At Civilization's End
by AvengedFan
Summary: Reposting (And finishing) of Special Tasks Team. The stories of Alliance Marine Henry Gerrard, Flotilla Marine Lena'Zuril and Blackwatch Soldier Roluck Vether and their experiences throughout the Reaper War.The story will follow alongside the arc of the games, with a few changes along the way. Rated M for a lot of reasons. New chapters start at Chapter 77.
1. Chapter 1

**POV of Sergeant Henry Gerrard, Alliance Marines**

I popped up over the flipped vehicle and fired a couple shots at an incoming geth. The whining sound of the Avenger tore through my ears as I knelt back down to avoid the salvo of suppressing fire that followed it. There wasn't much left of this slice of Eden Prime, from what little I could tell over the smoke and explosions that dotted my view.

The geth. They hadn't been on this side of the galaxy in...forever. I'd grown up hearing stories about them from my parents. Of their fight with the quarians that left them with a planet to call home and an entire Galaxy that was subsequently pissed at 'em.

_What the hell are they doing here?_I wondered to myself, not for the first time in the last fifteen minutes.

I was probably one of the more unfortunate of the Alliance Marines when the attack hit. It was just lil' old me, Sergeant Gerrard, on duty as one of the rovers during watch. All I had with me was a pistol (The standard-issue M-3 Predator Heavy Pistol that had just come out last month) and a sniper rifle (The M-92 Mantis, a rare acquisition for a Sergeant). Along with the pistol and rifle I only had three clips, which would not be enough, considering the sheer amount of geth that had landed here in that freak ship. I imagined that they were here for the Prothean relic that had been unearthed. It was the only thing here that made this paradise anything special. Still, I had no idea why they were after it.

_Who cares right now?_ I scolded myself, _First order of business: Survival._

I had fled the base, my mind just barely my own, headed for one of the two spaceports around the colony. The first was located near the artifact and though we had standing orders to protect the thing, I wasn't exactly equipped or trained for a one-man assault on an entire geth battalion. I figured it'd be better to make a break for the other spaceport and get out of here alive. That way, I could give a full debriefing to whoever picked me up.

So I was pinned down in front of the auxiliary spaceport, about a mile south of the transport to the other spaceport. The lead-up to it was a small road, since this area wasn't as well developed. Farmland on the left, spaceport walls to my right and the entrance to my back. There was a Mako crashed to my left, glinting orange due to the crimson sky. I would get to the entrance to the starport, but the geth had a rifle that was firing too fast and there was too much ground to cover between me and the entrance.

This geth just wouldn't die. It'd been following me the last ten minutes, much to my annoyance. Ever since the initial attack. I'd been far from my unit, but I'd seen a couple of them get away, including Gunnery Chief Williams. Then this little bastard had spotted me. I'd barely managed to avoid getting shot and I'd run for cover, thinking it'd stop following me eventually. I was wrong. I guess they wanted everybody dead, important or not.

So that left me here, cowering behind a vehicle like a god damn coward with my escape route (The spaceport) at my back and one geth stopping me from escaping. He was too close for the Mantis and too close for me to work my way through his shields with the pistol. He'd kill me before I brought them down.

I knew this because I'd already scored a few hits on this thing, but its shields weren't exactly letting me through. I had to come up with a new plan.

_Something to get past his shields, someth-_

I spotted a jagged metal bar lying on the grainy asphalt. The geth was approaching, continuing his suppressing fire to force me to keep my head down. He'd have to reload soon enough; his weapons weren't so advanced that he didn't have ammo.

Sure enough, the geth stopped firing and I heard the sound of a spent thermal clip hitting the ground. I had to move, now. I swung around the end of the vehicle and picked up the rod, which looked to possibly have be part of the vehicle at one point.

There wasn't much room for finesse. I sprinted as fast as I could towards the geth, who was reloading in what could only be described as smooth, mechanical movements. The geth started to bring the gun up, but I slammed the bar down on the gun, forcing it from the geth's hands.

I wasn't very big. I was average height and just a shade over two hundreds pounds, but that was about it. That was rounded out by blue eyes and a dark, just barely in-regs haircut. No special martial arts training and no special training at all, aside from boot camp and some sniper training. Which I'd literally just gotten out of last year. I had been exposed to Element Zero as a child during a near-miss accident when a transport ship crashed, so I had a small level of biotic abilities, though no training to use them. The biotic amps had been installed at the age of sixteen, but with a lack of training, the abilities had lay dormant for quite some time. I guess the Alliance had figured me as more useful in a field than at some sort of brain camp. This was my second duty station with only minor experience in combat during pirate and slaver skirmishes, so I was about as green as it could get.

A lot of NCO's were, due to a rare lack of war in recent history. Used to be that individual countries couldn't resist fighting for more than three seconds. Then the First Contact War came around and humanity managed to bludgeon their way into having an ambassador on the Citadel. Typically, only the higher staff NCO's and higher-up officers had any experience in the First Contact War.

The geth seemed stunned by the action, more so when I swung the bar up and caught it in its blue 'eye'. The geth reeled backwards, still on its own two feet but definitely temporarily disabled. I pulled the pistol up and fired, emptying an entire clip into the expressionless geth's face. With a buzzing of electronics, it dropped, clearly dead.

I sighed in relief, the adrenaline levels falling and forcing me on my butt. I backed up against the car, breathing heavily as my heart nearly tore through my chest from the pounding. I began to feel the sweat coating my body and the coolness of the breeze. I could see the other spaceport from here. I heard distant, sporadic gunfire. No longer a full on battle, but what sounded like small skirmishes in the spaceport. My unit was dying, if not already dead. I had to do something, now that I had a chance to regroup.

I had to do something. Maybe I could evacuate some of them. I looked around to find something. You never used your own weapons if there was something heavier nearby. There was a nearby Mako that had been pretty much torn apart. However, the turret up top still looked pretty operational. There was no way I could get inside the scrap heap, but the Mako had a feature that allowed a soldier to fire manually from on top of an immobile Mako. The turret more or less had the ability to swivel without the controls in the cockpit and there was a wide panel in the back that could be pried off and used for I jumped on up there and found myself in a good position to cover the road.

_This might be possible_. I reasoned, trying to fight the desperate anxiety rising within me. _If I can only find a few more people._

"This is Sgt Gerrard." I spoke into the headset. "If there are any of the 212 still alive, I'm holed up at the spaceport. I've got a turret, my sniper rifle and several clips of ammunition for it. There is suitable cover to dig in and outlast this geth attack."

"Negative, Sergeant." Lieutenant Waters replied., his reedy voice sounding exasperated. I almost groaned. Of course. Of all the people that'd still be alive, our asshole of a Platoon Commander would still be kicking about. "We cannot abandon that spaceport. Our orders are to safeguard that Prothean device."

"Sir," I reasoned, feeling like I was about to be in a lot of trouble, "Exactly how many Marines do you have over there, right now?"

"Two." He answered.

"And you want to push into what looks like an entire battalion of geth with three men, sir?" I asked. "That's suicide. With all due respect, you're not gonna get very far."

"Don't question me, Sergeant!" He yelled. "Wait, where are you two going!?"

"We're on our way, Gerrard." Sergeant Volkins spoke over the radio. "Corporal Daniels and I should be there in about five minutes. We're not too far out."

"Roger." I replied. "And you, sir?"

"I'll stay!" He barked stubbornly, "I'll stay and ensure that you and Sergeant Volkins and Corporal Daniels are drummed right on out of the military."

"Well, good luck to you,sir." The always-deadpan Sergeant Volkins replied, "Because there appears to be a platoon of geth headed our way."

Lieutenant Waters didn't answer, too proud to admit that he was overwhelmed and had to leave his position.

_Fuck him._ I thought mutinously, _If he wants to waste his life for no reason, I'm certainly not going to stop him_.

Besides, I had a better plan. Survive and hold the only other spaceport nearby.

As I sat atop the turret, I abruptly became aware of just how exposed I was. There was absolutely nothing stopping some geth from sniping me or shooting me off the top of the turret. I glanced around nervously, my hands inside the turret and grasping the trigger mechanisms. It was too open out here. Through the sky and the explosions, I could see the giant ship still there, though it was showing signs of movement now. Maybe it was getting ready to take off?

I heard gunfire further up the road and could see a pair of figures running as fast as they could. Behind them were a bunch of geth who were too far away to simply drop to a knee and shoot them, so they had to resign themselves to simply chasing the two Marines.

I had to give them a shot at getting here. I pulled my hands out of the turret and pulled out my sniper rifle. I hit a button on the underside of the boxy little thing and the rifle expanded. I laid down on my belly and pulled the stock of the rifle into my shoulder. I sighted in through the scope and sure enough, it was them. They were still about seven hundred yards out and they looked exhausted from their run.

"I've got you covered." I assured them through the microphone. The geth were about a hundred yards behind them, numbering somewhere in the twenties. I took a deep breath.

_You can do this._ I thought to myself. _You can do this. Don't feel nervous._

I sighted in on a blue geth who was holding a plasma rifle in his hands. Another deep breath, then I fired. There was a loud boom from the rifle that echoed throughout the trees around me. The geth's 'head' suddenly exploded in a cloud of smoke and circuitry.

It was both nothing like and exactly like training. The entire feel was different, more rushed and tense. But I just fell back to the Sergeants who had been yelling orders into my head and trusted on that guidance.

Emboldened, I racked the bolt back and cleared room for another round. I sighted in on another Geth and fired. This one went down with a hole blown clear through into its chest. I felt another quick moment of triumph before moving to the next target, a Geth who was a little closer than the rest of them. There was a small explosion at the spaceport that distracted me, causing me to jerk the trigger and send the shot high and to the right. The second shot ended up destroying the thing's head.

I sent a couple more shots into the enemy ranks before Sergeant Volkins and Corporal Daniels arrived with a scuffing of boots.

"Nice of you two to finally drag your asses over here!" I yelled, dropping the rifle and getting up into the turret.

"Better than Lieutenant Dickweed being the last face I see before I die." Sergeant Volkins grunted, dropping where I'd been moments before and expanding his assault rifle.

"I would also prefer life to death, as unacceptable as that apparently is." Corporal Daniels growled, pulling out his pistol and taking cover behind the same vehicle I'd been sitting behind earlier. Between the three of us, we could cover the entire roadway. The geth had the option of cutting into the farmland to our left, but they might struggle through the waist-high crops and become a much easier target for us.

The geth were probably aware of that, from the way they fanned out as they closed in. Suddenly, we were all taking fire from assault rifles. Plasma whizzed past my head with a high wine as our weapons boomed.

I began firing, feeling almost nothing as I did so. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as I fired, mowing down geth. I couldn't use the cannon, but I didn't exactly need to.

There were no thoughts as I fired, no strategy. I wasn't in the middle of bloodlust. I was scared. Any one of these shots could tear me apart and end my life. One lucky shot and I'd never see my mother or father again. As I fired, I wasn't even thinking about them. The only thing that passed through my mind was images of my father telling me how proud I'd made hm when I'd gone through bootcamp. Of my mother crying over my sister as she faded away on Horizon, too sick to lift an arm.

I thought of never seeing them again. The thought terrified me as I switched between targets and kept firing. Kept firing even long after they were dead. I only stopped once the turret overheated. I saw a heap of dead Geth in front of me and laughed victoriously, the laugh sounding a lot more nervous than I'd intended.

"Well that was pretty bad, huh guys?" I asked.

Silence met my words. I looked around. Sergeant Volkins was lying next to me, a red stain on the ground where his head had been. I turned to my right to see Corporal Daniels on his back, several holes burned through him.

I choked back a wave of nausea as I leaned back against the turret. I felt numb, barely able to process a stray thought. I barely noticed that the gigantic ship had retreated, that the gunfire on the spaceport had ceased.

I felt what little I had in my stomach start to come up. I leaned over to all fours and started to heave, having nothing to throw up but going through the motions regardless. I gasped when the heaving subsided, pressing my back up against the Mako again.

"You!" A gravelly turian voice yelled, "Human!"

I craned my head to the sight of a turian. He was dressed in black armor, with red stripes curled around it. His face was black and red face-paint was elaborately drawn around it. He had an orange visor extending down to his blue eyes. He stood over six feet tall and a pair of gloved, three fingered hands grasped what looked to be a Mattock Assault rifle. Those were highly modifiable, very precise and very powerful, though they didn't have an automatic mode.

Next to him was some sort of asari. Her skin was a deep purple and unlike the turian's bulky armor, she was clad in some tight-fitting black armor that undoubtedly enhanced biotic abilities. She gazed around with red eyes, making sure there was no more threat. She stood maybe as tall as me. She was carrying, unsurprisingly, a shotgun. From the rectangular shape, it looked like the Scimitar. That wasn't the most powerful, but it could unload a group of shots quicker than most shotguns.

I tried not to notice how beautiful she was.

_She's not human, damn it._

Last up was a salarian. He was just as tall as the turian, with a bland blue skin. He stared around with wide green eyes as the horns on his head swung around with the rest of him. He wore brown and white armor and he clutched a small SMG. The Tempest, unless I was much mistaken. They were powerful little weapons. They weren't powerful but could fire around fifty rounds before needing to be reloaded, making them devastating.

I didn't get up. The adrenaline had faded again, leaving me tired and exhausted. I had the Mantis in hand, but I didn't expect any hostilities from this group, so I let it sit in my lap. I was breathing heavily, undoubtedly from the terror. I felt like I was in a dream, numb to everything around me.

"Yeah." Was all I said.

"Identify yourself." The turian growled.

"Sergeant Gerrard." I answered, "Possibly the last of the 212 Marines."

The turian looked at the two bodies next to me and his expression seemed to soften a bit.

"We heard the geth were here." He said, "Clearly, that wasn't exaggerated. Did the three of you wipe out this platoon yourselves?"

"Yes we did." I replied, slowly coming back to my senses. Back to the real world. I planted a hand on the Mako and pushed myself up with a groan. "We fell back here and held this position. In case of arriving reinforcements."

It was a lie. We'd fallen back here so we could survive. They didn't need to know that, though. I slowly approached the team. I saw all of their hands tighten around their weapons, but they otherwise made no attempt to stop me from getting closer.

"We're the Council's STT, or Special Tasks Team." The asari announced calmly as I stopped in front of the three of them. "My name is Elura Unami, asari commando. We're a multi-race team of specialists designed to promote unity in Council Space and perform unusual combat-related tasks. Right now, we're here to ensure the securing of the Prothean Beacon. There are other assets on the ground, but the Council wants to be sure it gets done."

"You abandoned your objective?" The turian asked, his tone borderline hostile as he climbed down the steps to tower over me, "The Prothean Beacon?"

The tone immediately pissed me off. He wasn't here, how the hell would he know better?

"First off," I answered, my own tone becoming more combative than I would've preferred, "I was by myself and patrolling the outer skirts of the base when the attack hit, so I was already too far outside to help. Second of all, my unit was reduced to me and three others when I was finished beating that geth over there-"

I pointed to the geth, who showed clear signs of a brutal assault.

"I don't know why you think I would've been able to march into a battalion-sized element of geth with four men and hold-"

"We get it." The salarian answered, talking fast (Which was their normal speed), "Impossibly outnumbered, terrain disadvantage, not well-armed. Hopeless situation. Better to regroup and analyze than attack."

"But before we could figure out a plan..." I trailed off, waving in the general direction of the bodies. I was sure the rest could be pieced together. Still a lie, but a very convincing one.

There was silence for a moment, then the turian said, "Excuse us."

They turned away from me and grouped together a little ways off. I watched them impassively as the three of them seemed to mutter to each other. I turned to the spaceport, able to see destruction written on nearly every buildling. I sighed to myself. This was easily the worst day of my life.

"Sergeant." The turian announced. I turned back to him to find the group coming towards me, "We have a Frigate in there by the name of The Pavalen. We're going to be returning as soon as we can confirm the security of the Beacon. We've radioed our commander and requested he tell the Alliance of your survival. When we return, we'll fly you back to the Citadel for the Alliance to sort out."

"Understood." I agreed, "Thank you."

I held a hand out to him, but the turian ignored it.

"Don't touch anything in there." He directed, "Just pick out a room and stay there."

It was rude, but at least he was getting me off this rock. I just nodded and slunk away, unwilling to get in a fight with the Team.

As I headed for the hangar, I wondered if anybody else had survived.

**So I stopped this story because I was afraid, between college and writing my own thing, that I wouldn't have the time. Turns out I do have the time and I really want to finish this story, so here it is.  
**

**As a reminder, for those who forgot or haven't seen the story, it will go off the main story to some degree, but things will change especially in the third iteration. I'll upload the chapters up to 76 (The last one I'd done until I took it off), then they'll be pumped out every few days or so.  
**

**Lastly, as always, I'd really appreciate any comments. I write things like these for practice and would like to know what people think.  
**

**Without further ado...**


	2. Chapter 2

I was more than thankful that I hadn't gone to the Beacon with them. The rest of the 212 had been slaughtered, with only me and Gunnery Chief Williams surviving the assault. She'd apparently hooked up with a group of N7 who'd been dropped in the area. There'd been evidence that my fellow Marines had been impaled on spikes and turned into something the Turian called husks. The beacon had been destroyed by the time they'd gotten there. The Council had already been notified, so the STT didn't even need to be out there.

The trip back had been tense. I'd been completely ignored until I'd been let off at the Citadel. I knew that pretty much all of the Council species were racists (Turians especially). Add in that these people were a tight-knit group, not politicians, I became a complete outsider.

When we landed, I was immediately met by a Sergeant Sterling, a quiet man who had escorted me up through the Wards. People had stared at me as I passed. I was dirty and I imagined I smelled like smoke and stale sweat. I wished I had time to clean myself before I got here.

I didn't get to see much of the Citadel. Each race had an ambassador and a military Point of Contact here. The ambassadors got the big cozy offices upstairs on the Presidium while the military Points of Contact got a desk in the shifty part of the Wards, near Citadel Security.

I had seen the Citadel out of the window though. I'd never been here before and damn, this place was huge. The stories I'd heard just didn't do justice to how beautiful and peaceful the Citadel was. I was hoping I'd get a chance to see the top side of the Citadel, where all the trees and lakes were. I heard it was downright serene.

The military POC here was a Colonel in the Marines. I'd been nervous about the man when I'd first walked in. He was tall, big and had brown hair that was greying at the sides. Light blue eyes considered me when I'd walked in.

_I bet he was in the First Contact War._ I reasoned.

Then again, it seemed like everybody above the rank of O-5 or E-6 had been in the First Contact War.

The room was cramped, nearly lined with filing cabinets and smack in the middle of the small room was a desk. Like pretty much all of the Citadel, this room was incredibly clean. The smell of musky clothes, a smell I'd come to recognize as being distinctly military, still filled the room.

"Sit down." He boomed. I sat in a chair in front of his desk. The nameplate on his desk marked him as Colonel Arling. There was a long silence as we looked at each other, then he took a breath.

"I pulled the report from the SST." He told me seriously. "It's a classified report, but I have the clearance. You and two others brought down an enemy that outnumbered you six to one. An unsettling and very well-trained enemy, at that. You failed your objective, but it wasn't a failure of your own doing."

"Yessir." I answered evenly, not sure how to reply to that statement.

"That was nasty fighting down there, son." He told me, "We had an N7 operative down there who bludgeoned his way through it all, but still didn't meet the bulk of the enemy like the 212 and 232 did."

I stayed silent, waiting for him to get to the point. I didn't want to be rude, but I was on edge. I'd just gotten out of the most traumatic moment in my life and while I was sure I'd be fine, I still needed a little time alone to process what had happened.

_And sitting in front of a Colonel is not my idea of 'Time alone.'_ I continued privately.

"I pulled up your record." Colonel Arling said, pulling out a brown personnel folder and dropping it bodily onto the desk. It amazed me that, even in this day and age, the Alliance military still loved to use those folders. "There's an electric copy, of course, but it doesn't have your award write-up."

"Award, sir?" I wondered aloud, struck almost speechless by the news.

"Terran Star for Valor." He said with a nod, "But no big ceremony. You're being swept under the rug."

"What?" I asked, my voice a little raised. I even forgot to add the all-important 'sir'. I felt apprehensive. The phrasing of what he'd just said summoned images of somebody in a suit coming up behind me and executing me. There was nobody here, he could do it.

I also felt a little disgusted at the thought of my award. I had ran from a geth for about a mile, then turned around and set up an area for everyone to retreat to, disobeying my LT's direct orders. Following that, my two comrades had been killed by my side. I hadn't even held any ground for anything important.

"Sir, I don't think I earned that award." I spoke up. He looked at me, surprised.

"You and two other men mowed down a platoon." He answered, looking completely confused. "How the hell do you not earn that award?"

I went through the whole story of what had happened, feeling as though I would soon be in a large amount of trouble.

"And then I helped Sergeant Volkins and Corporal Daniels." I finished, "But we disobeyed direct orders for a chance to survive. Our stand wasn't even to defend anything important, it was just a good place for us to bunker down momentarily."

There was a long silence as Colonel Arling stared at me.

"Was your Lieutenant new to the job?" He asked. "Bit of a hardass? No idea which foot belonged in front of the other but sure that one was to remain up your ass?"

"Yessir." I answered carefully, feeling like I was being trapped by the Marine's words

"Sergeant, do you honestly believe you made the wrong decision?"

"I...no. No I don't."

"Sergeant," He started, "that platoon you took out enabled the N7 team to get through to the beacon with only moderate resistance. Had that other platoon not been pulled away, there's a chance that nobody would've gotten to the beacon. The geth were so hellbent on ensuring there were no survivors that you may have unintentionally saved a team from slaughter. Had you not finished them off, they would've had an opportunity to flank or circle behind the other team and possibly get the drop on them."

I thought about that for a moment. I hadn't even considered that angle.

"Still doesn't feel right." I muttered.

The Colonel sighed. I could tell that he was a straight talker. He wasn't going to bullshit me.

"It's besides the fact, now. What happened at Eden Prime is going to be highly classified, Sergeant." He said, worry creasing his brow. "There will be the official story, but there will also be the classified deviations on what happened. You're going to have to become one of them."

"So what does that mean for me, sir?" I asked nervously.

"Christ, I hate politics." He muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair. "It means we need to put you in a place where you won't be in the public eye. Two Marines from the 212 survived this ordeal. One is attached to N7 for the moment and the other is you. There will be reporters after you. So on your way here, I found a solution."

"Solution?" I wondered.

The door opened behind us and the Colonel stood. I turned to see what had to be an older turian stride into the room. He was wearing blue and gold armor, something that made him look more regal than the turian Commando on Eden Prime. He had a grey face with white facepaint on it. He carried himself tall and proud as he surveyed the tiny room with blue eyes. His eyes settled on me and took on a distinctly displeased expression.

"General Toulius." Colonel Arling introduced.

I saluted the turian, who saluted me back immediately.

"Human." He greeted me tersely.

"Sergeant." Colonel Arling corrected in a rather harsh tone. The turian shot a venomous glare at the Colonel.

"Is this the Sergeant's file?" General Toulius asked, pointing to the folder on Colonel Arling's desk.

"Yessir." Arling replied, picking up the folder and holding it out. General Toulius grabbed it and started to read through it.

_That's one of those things I wish you wouldn't do in front of me._ I thought to myself, but kept my mouth shut. I had no idea what was going on, but this turian was clearly someone important.

"Excellent fitness levels..." He muttered, reading through the data, "Sniper training...and here we go..."

He got to what I assumed was the report on Eden Prime and his eyes scanned it.

"Two lightly armed men and a turret versus twenty-nine geth." He said, looking up at me. "Impressive. Early reports scores you into about nineteen kills, judging from the ballistic damages."

"My friends still died." I answered. "I don't exactly feel like a hero now, sir."

"Allow me the rare pleasure of being plain with you." The turian said, "I don't like humans. The STT teams are mine to direct, but the Council has deigned that I make nice with the other non-Council species. Humans, unfortunately, are on the list of species that are to be assigned to STT Team Zeta. At the moment, I'm assigning the team to searching for recruits themselves."

"If they're doing the recruiting, why are you suggesting me, sir?" I asked.

"I'm not." He answered, glaring up at me, "They requested you. They're the team you met on Eden Prime."

I was surprised. I'd been under the distinct impression they didn't like me. Then again, what did I know?

"So what do the STT Teams do, sir?" I asked, "Team Zeta gave me a broad overview, but it sounded a lot like what Spectres do."

"It is and it isn't." General Toulius answered, "The Special Tasks Teams are a little more conventional than Spectres. Where Spectres are, more or less, spies, STTs are committed to more orthodox operations. They don't necessarily get into combat, but they are used in situations that are a little too big for one Spectre."

"Example, sir?" I inquired.

"For example, a Spectre needs to bring down a gang as part of their objective. Or a new species is discovered. These are the tasks the STTs get called in for."

"Understood, sir." I answered, still standing at parade rest.

We stared each other down for a long moment before he looked at Colonel Arling. I could almost see a twinge of regret in his eyes.

"He'll do." He told Colonel Arling, "I apologize for the disrespect, I've been with politicians all day. Not good for my mindset. Have him check in at Dock 23C tomorrow at 1100. For now, he'll be ordering gear and spending a little time recovering after that mission."

"Understood, General." Colonel Arling acknowledged, "Good luck with those politicians."

General Toulius scoffed and exited the room.

"He seems...friendly." I lied.

"Don't worry about him too much." Colonel Arling assured me, taking his seat, "He has nothing to do but deal with politicians all day. He's not fond of humans, but holds the Alliance military in a little higher regard."

I nodded, waiting to be dismissed.

"So, you heard him." Colonel Arling said, activating his omni-tool. The one on my arm started to glow, as well. I looked down at the orange glow, realizing that I hadn't forgotten it was there completely. I guess, between the small wristband that was the omni-tool and the translator I was required to wear at all times, that I didn't really notice the accessories anymore. "Dock 23C tomorrow, eleven hundred. Don't be late. I've programmed the number of the on-station Alliance transports to come pick you up and drop you off. I imagine you'll be having a drink or seven tonight, so I don't want you crashing a vehicle into the side of the Presidium. I also forwarded codex entries for reference and a requisition order for your gear that will be filled out with the Sergeant out there."

"Yessir." I answered.

"I imagine you don't have any personal effects, but you certainly need a shower and a fresh change of clothes. They'll be provided to you when you arrive in temporary housing. Sergeant Sterling will give you directions."

"Roger that."

"Lastly," Colonel Arling said, "Your mother and father have been apprised of the situation. Your father is demanding that you call him."

I sighed. My father was a Rear Admiral in the Alliance Navy. Which meant he had a LOT of pull.

"I'll get on that after this." I groaned.

"Dismissed, Sergeant." Colonel Arling ordered, "Report to Sergeant Sterling and once you've filled out your requisition order, head to the temporary housing in the Presidium Commons. They'll get you hooked up with a room."

"Thank you, sir." I answered. I started to leave the room, when he called me back.

"Sir?" I asked, turning back around. He looked indecisive, as though not entirely sure he wanted to say what he had to say. Finally, he smiled and said:

"Have no doubts, Sergeant." He told me, "You did us proud and did more than we could've asked of you. Hold your head high for that."

I felt the slightest doubt at his words, but appreciated the gesture.

"Thank you, sir." I told him honestly as I pulled the door open and stepped out into the next room.

Sergeant Sterling was seated at a desk at the far end of this (also relatively tiny) room. He looked up as I approached and I sat down in front of him.

"You alright, man?" He asked, concern etched into his face, "I heard that shit was pretty bad."

"It was." I agreed, then looked down at my omni-tool. "Let's just get this over with, if that's alright."

"Sure." He replied, his own omni-tool starting to glow. He read the number of his omni-tool off and I connected with it. I shared the requisition list with him, so that as I selected items, his omni-tool would be updated.

The first thing I requested was a full set of Predator Heavy Armor. I'd seen the armor before and had been impressed by the size of it, as well as the heavy shoulder padding that made it ideal for someone with a big weapon seated in his shoulder.

The second item I wanted was a new biotic amplifier. To be quite honest, if I was going to be working with a team that had biotics on board, I wanted to learn how to control what meager abilities I did have. I had the port installed and with the regular L2 amp, but it gave me the occasional headache, so I wanted something a little more...stable. So I settled for the nice, easy Solaris Amp.

Lastly, my weapons. I'd seen everyone on that team with a myriad of weapons, but nothing very long range. Which meant that I needed a new sniper rifle. The Mantis was okay, but I could do better. I scanned the list before I found something I really really liked.

"Is the Black Widow seriously up for grabs?" I wondered.

Sergeant Sterling nodded, then said, "You're only authorized that because you've been through sniper training. Even Spectres don't get that option unless they have formal training."

"Well I'll definitely grab one of those." I told him. "Along with the Phalanx."

When I checked off the box next to the M-5 Phalanx, I deactivated my Omni-tool.

"That'll be it." I told Sergeant Sterling, standing up.

"Temporary housing is out the main entrance of C-Sec and all the way to the left. You'll start seeing signs. You shouldn't have a problem after that. Don't go too hard tonight." He advised. "And good luck with the STT."

"Thanks." I replied over my shoulder as the door slid open and I emerged into the main C-Sec center. People were still staring as I walked out, but at least they were being a little bit subtle about it. In a place like the Citadel, I imagined that it was hard to remember that there was still violence all over the galaxy. Everything here seemed so rushed, but peaceful.

The C-Sec center was not too crowded. The only significant thing of note was a gruff argument on the other side of the wall about someone named "Fist". Other than that, it seemed pretty dead in here. I hung a left and headed down a long hallway before I found the sign pointing me to temporary housing.

I followed Sergeant Sterling's directions. The Wards had a strange feel about them. They were spotless, but there were some areas that were dark, others that were bathed in the red glow of neon lights. Despite this area's impossible cleanliness, I could tell that this was the more seedy part of the Citadel. I couldn't help but notice that nobody was walking alone. Even C-Sec officers and military were doubled up.

I arrived within minutes at the Temporary Housing. It was simply a ton of barracks rooms used for transient members of every military. Whether they were on leave, in between units (Like me), or here for training, they were in the temporary housing.

I took the door into the complex, to once again find myself in a small office. There was a desk opposite the door with a PFC sitting behind it. Along with it was one door on each end. He looked up at me when I entered.

"Sergeant Gerrard?" He asked.

"Yeah." I answered.

He opened one of the drawers to his desk and pulled out a keycard.

"If you lose it," He instructed, "just ask me or whoever's on duty when you get back for the master key."

"Thank you." I said, grabbing the keycard from him.

"Your room number is forty-eight." He told me, pointing to a door on the left. "Bed's made and there should be a couple changes of non-formal wear."

"Appreciate it." I answered, walking through the door. I found myself in a long hallway, with a door on the wall every ten feet.

I walked the hallway until I found my door. It was nondescript, just like everyone else's, save for the number. When I walked in, I wasn't too surprised to find that the room was tiny. There was a small bed with uncomfortable-looking sheets on it in the corner, with a nightstand next to it. In the corner next to the door was a small dresser. There was a door in the corner, next to the nightstand. I walked through that door to find a tiny bathroom.

Still, one shower later and I couldn't care how small the room was. I toweled off, scavenged some clothes from the dresser, then got ready to make a call I was dreading.

I sat on the edge of the bed, mentally preparing myself, before dialing the number on my omni-tool.

There was a moment where the soundwave showed nothing, then red letters saying "Connected"

"Henry?" a voice floated into the room

"Hey dad." I muttered.

"I heard about what happened." He said, his usually rough voice sounding uncharacteristically soft, "Only you and one other Marine got out of that mess alive. You alright?"

I thought about Volkins and Daniels. I thought about how I'd pretty much blacked out as I mowed down about two-thirds of a geth platoon and how I'd been so much of a coward that I'd been terrified the entire fight.

"Not really, dad, no." I groaned, leaning back against the wall as I looked up at the perfectly clean metal ceiling. "I...well..."

I described the events proceeding the skirmish, as well as the skirmish itself. When I was done, I heard dad sigh on the other end of the line.

"I was hoping you wouldn't have to deal with things like this when you joined the Marines." Dad admitted sadly from his end of the line, "But I want you to know that you did what you had to, Henry. Don't blame yourself for the mistakes someone else made. That Lieutenant was committed, but he was also wrong. A situation I've seen with many Lieutenants."

"But even so," I argued, "everyone's been telling me what a great job I did. I was terrified, dad. I came to and the only other Marines from the 212 were dead. I can barely remember the details of the fight."

"The fight you won." He pointed out, cutting me off. "There's no shame in fear. What's important and what defines you is how you struggle against that fear. In your case, you took out enough geth to fill up a transport. There's courage in that, no matter how scared you were."

"I guess." I muttered.

"Listen," He said, his tone indicating he was interested in something else, "I'm hearing reports that you're joining an STT?"

"Yeah." I told him. How did everyone seem to know about this but me? "The team that found me on Eden Prime sent in a recommendation."

"It's a very good opportunity." Dad replied, "You're in a rare position to represent humanity in a big way. I know you'll do your best. I'll call your mother tonight and let her know you're okay."

"Thanks." I said.

"Take some shore leave sometime, when you can. We'll catch up. I'd like to see you after...all this." He suggested.

"I'll let you know when I can." I ended, "Good-bye."

"Good luck." He answered, then my omni-tool informed me that I'd been disconnected.

I collapsed into the bed, too exhausted to even turn off the light before I fell into sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Last night had been completely uneventful. Instead of the big pity party everyone has seemed to expect, I'd merely slept for twelve hours. I woke up feeling groggy and with a bit of a headache, but decided it would still be fun to explore the Presidium. There was the chance I wouldn't get another opportunity in quite some time.

I didn't scrub down in the shower so much as I just leaned up against the side and let the hot water rain down on me. I was still a little bit in shock over what had happened yesterday. It seemed like it might as well have been an entirely different period in my life.

I heard a soft beep from the omni-tool, which I'd laid on the counter before hopping into the shower. The sound indicated that I had a call waiting. I turned the shower off and wrapped myself in towel as quickly as I could, before pressing a button on the holographic interface. The same audiowave screen came up. The label above the wave said "Elura Unami." If I remembered correctly, that was the Asari from STT Zeta.

"Sergeant Gerrard?" She asked, sounding the slightest bit uncertain.

"Yes..." I started to trail off, not quite sure what I should call her. Did she even have a rank?

"Don't worry about formalities." She said, "Teams like these tend to be a lot more casual."

"You got it, Elura." I answered with relief.

"So Henry." She ventured, "On the note of being casual, I imagine it's your first time to the Citadel. The team would like to show you around, if you'd be willing. We haven't really gotten a chance to know you."

"That sounds good." I told her, "Where are you at?"

"Outside your room." She answered.

I looked down at my naked, water-dripping self and realized that I wasn't exactly ready for visitors.

"Oh..." I muttered, "Give me a moment, will you? I'm just getting out of the shower."

"Well, make it quick." She said, right before disconnecting.

_That was pretty rude._ I thought to myself. Then again, they'd been willing to accept me onto their team, so I supposed I could only be so angry about it. So I got dressed in the Alliance liberty uniform. It was blue all the way, from the cargo pants and belt to the uncomfortably tight-fitting shirt. A little gold Sergeant chevron was sewn onto the left breast of it. I hated wearing these clothes, but it was all that had been provided for me. I tied on the black leather boots that 'completed' the uniform and walked to the door.

I opened it to find the same three from yesterday waiting. Elura was leaning up against the wall, talking to the salarian in hushed tones. The turian was looking down the hall, idly picking at his claws. They all looked up at me when I walked out the door.

"You're looking better." The turian said, "A little less...shell-shocked."

"Thanks," I said as they watched me with what seemed to be curiosity. "I think. I'm honestly a little surprised you requested I join the team after seeing me...like that."

"You still put down a good number of Geth, so you should be solid in a fight." Elura replied with a shrug. "Besides, we've been needing a little more meat on this team."

"Meat?" I wondered, trying not to draw any bad implications from the term.

"Humans, batarians and krogan." The salarian replied. "Turians, asari and salarian can be trained in hand to hand, but not as physically hardy. Never see salarian in fistfight. Name's Errahe Trenel, Sergeant. Used to be member of Special Tasks Group."

It took me a moment to process what he said. He had gone from explaining something to introducing himself in less time than it took me to reload a pistol.

"And I'm Roluck Vether." The turian grunted. "Former Blackwatch."

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little intimidated. These three were all former Special Forces. While I was simply a Marine. Not to undermine the importance of being an Alliance Marine, but I was still not as well trained as these three.

"So we're leaving this afternoon?" I wondered, "Where are we headed?"

"We'll talk about that when we get on the ship." Elura answered, "This isn't really the place. For now, since you're a tourist, we figured it'd be best to learn about you while we show you around."

"That sounds good." I told them, not sure how I felt about this arrangement. On one hand, I had no idea how to get around. On the other hand, it might be awkward running around with three Special Ops troops taking in the sights. I didn't want to leave a bad impression on these three.

"Up to the Presidium first." Errahe directed, "Best view. Aesthetically pleasing. Great place to start."

"Well, let's go." Elura said.

We walked past a somewhat uncomfortable looking PFC at the front desk as we exited Temporary Housing. I was behind the group, but close enough to them in stride that it was clear I was part of the group. We weren't drawing as many odd looks as I thought we would. As I looked around the main C-Sec office, I saw more inter-species pairings than I'd ever seen anywhere else. Out on Eden Prime, we'd have another species come by on very rare occasions and they were usually under guard the whole time.

My musings were interrupted when we got into the elevator. It was a little cramped, with four people in there. The elevator slowly started to move up in silence.

When I said the elevator moved slowly, I meant it. Roluck coughed uncomfortably as Elura inspected her nails idly. I looked over my uniform, making sure I was presentable. Errahe was humming quietly to himself.

"So did you go out and have a few drinks last night?" Roluck asked, awkwardly attempting to break the silence of the tiny elevator.

"Too tired." I told him, "Got some sleep."

"How much sleep do you humans require?" He wondered.

"Eight hours, typically."

"Typically?"

"I get three or four" I admitted, "Got twelve, last night."

"That's depressing." Elura observed.

"But efficient." Errahe pointed out, "Long enough to restore function, short enough to squeeze more out of day. At least for human sleep cycles."

"How long do Salarians sleep?" I asked.

"Two hours." He answered quickly, "On average."

"Jesus." I muttered, "I wish I could operate on that my whole life."

The doors finally opened and I emerged into the Presidium. It was nothing like what I'd expected.

Somehow, the skies were blue out here, like on Earth. Everything was a sterile white color. A lake ran between two sides of the Commons. There were plants everywhere, most of them lining the lake and making the scene beautiful. Small but extravagant bridges traveled over the lakes and I saw people of all species wandering around. There was a smile on every face, all of them seemingly unaware of the ugly galaxy around them.

"It's so...serene..." I muttered, gazing around. I could see the embassies not far from here, as well as a bunch of shops. Then there was a red sign in one of the corners far from here proclaiming the presence of a 'Consort'.

"There are many areas like this, Henry." Elura informed me, "This one is merely closest to the Citadel Tower, so you'll see the best services on display here."

I must've looked like an idiot, gazing around the Presidium like I was. I heard fountains in the distance and the sounds of calm conversation. It was so soothing.

"If your mouth opens any wider, someone could maneuver a Dreadnought through there." Roluck mocked.

"Sorry." I apologized, closing my mouth, "Just...I'm from small settlements and frontier worlds. I've seen some beautiful places, but nothing like this."

"Everybody is a little awestruck their first time here." Elura informed me. "Especially those from colonies and the like."

"So we have some time before we need to get to the ship." Roluck said, "How about we get something to eat? I'm starving."

"You're always hungry, Roluck." Elura said.

"Especially after eating, somehow." Errahe pointed out.

"I'm definitely all for some breakfast." I agreed.

We turned left and walked down a ways. I kept staring at everything we passed. Markets, statues, fountains...it was all alien to me. Colony worlds usually consisted of a slowly expanding settlement, which were filthy and poverty-stricken until they eventually expanded far enough to draw businesses and create stable infrastructure.

That was where I'd been my whole life. I'd grown up on a colony world, my father preferring to leave me and my mother behind while on deployment rather than raise me on ships. When I'd enlisted, I'd been kicked to two colony worlds for my duty stations. The second being, of course, Eden Prime.

We ended up in a kind of cross species cafeteria for military units. All of the species had segregated themselves into their respective species and ate like that. I wondered if our team was going to eat together, so I fell in behind them in line. At the serving area, there was a whole buffet lined up of food for different types of species. I let my eyes wander over the exotic foods until I saw a small section in one corner for human food. I picked up some eggs, bacon, toast and a grapefruit.

Grabbing some milk on the way out of the line, I saw the rest of Zeta Team settling down with their respective species. I looked to where there was an entire Alliance unit seated in a corner. They were all talking to each other, laughing and yelling. In other words, they were a complete unit. It'd be very awkward for me to sit with them right off the hoof. There was more than enough room between them and the salarians for me to nestle in comfortably without encroaching on anyone's space.

I sat down and started eating, thinking of the day ahead. I wanted to stop over in the shops before I left. I imagined that I had some sort of authorization to purchase upgrades and with the weapons I'd be requisitioning soon, I'd need them.

"Yo!" Someone yelled from my right. I turned to see Sergeant Sterling sitting there, the same Sergeant I met yesterday who worked with Colonel Arling. "Why don't you join us?"

At that, some of the unit stopped talking and looked at me. About ten Marines looked me over critically.

"Who the hell is this guy?" One of them, a PFC, muttered to the table at large.

"Show some respect." Sergeant Sterling ordered, turning a glare on the PFC, "He just returned from the 212 yesterday."

Some of the Marines appraised me in a new light, while others didn't get the reference.

"Why the hell doesn't he wait 'til they eat and go sit with them?" A Corporal asked.

"Because they were wiped out by the geth on Eden Prime yesterday." Another Sergeant answered. "Now scoot over and make some room for him."

The Corporal hopped over a seat, looking more than willing to do so. Feeling very embarrassed, I took his seat, drawing the stares of nearly the entire unit. Even some of the Staff NCO's were looking at me.

As I started in on my toast, Sergeant Sterling broke the silence.

"Have fun last night?" He asked.

"Too tired." I replied, shaking my head, "I just got some sleep."

"So Sergeant, how bad was it?" One of the Lance Corporals asked, "On Eden Prime?"

"Pretty damn bad." I answered, speaking slowly to ensure I didn't reveal anything that might be classified, "Everyone died, save me and three others. Two of them fell back to my position, since it was defensible. In return for that, we got to soak up a geth platoon."

"The other two didn't make it?" He wondered. I just shook my head.

"Over a hundred Marines." I said, "I'm the only one to escape."

Well, I wasn't the only one. I had no idea if Gunnery Chief William's survival was secret or not, so I didn't mention it.

"It's alright, man." Sergeant Sterling said, "One day, we all may have to go through something like that."

Everyone shifted in their seats, a bit uncomfortable. It was true, though. War was rare in these times. Piracy, human trafficking and colony fighting were not so uncommon. Every once in a while, a colony would go missing and every unit would be found dead. This was a little different, though. The massacre at Eden Prime had been a planned, coordinated attack by a very mysterious enemy. Not some slaver ring.

"How many did you kill?" Someone wondered. I tried to remember the number Colonel Arling had given me yesterday.

"Nineteen." I said, "At least, that's what ballistics say. I was manning a turret. I...don't really remember much of it."

There was nothing to be said after that, so everyone went back to their earlier discussions. I dug into my grapefruit, peeling it off fast. I wasn't sure how quickly the others would eat, but I didn't want to be holding them up. Especially since there were only a couple hours before we had to be at the dock and I wanted to do a little shopping before then.

Everyone left me alone. I felt a presence behind me when I finished my grape fruit, compounded by all the Marines looking over my shoulder. I turned to see Team Zeta there.

"You ready?" Roluck asked.

"Yeah, I'm finished." I said. I turned to the Marines, who seemed a little wary of me. "I'll see you all around, I guess."

I grabbed my tray up and followed the team to the conveyor belt that collected the trays. We set them down on the belt and walked out of the cafeteria.

"So I need to go visit the Consort." Elura said, "Finally getting my appointment today. I've waited four months for it."

"Need to visit friend in the hospital." Errahe told the group at large, "STG. Injured on last assignment."

He walked away and I looked at Roluck, who just shrugged.

"I was going to go check out some weapon modifications." I told him.

"That sounds more to my liking." Roluck answered, a wisp of a smile on his avian-like face. "I'll be joining you, I believe."

"Cool." I muttered, looking around. "So where, exactly, are these shops?"

Roluck started walking back down the way we'd come.

"There are many here on the Presidium." Roluck answered, "The Wards have some and I know C-Sec has their own store. I never understood how that one works."

"You don't seem too fond of humans." I noted.

"Your species is still young." He said, glancing back at me and looking a little guilty to be discussing this subject, "But you've all bullied your way into consideration for a Council seat in such a short time. It's not right."

"Not all of humanity consists of bullies, Roluck." I informed him. "I'm just a guy from a colony world. I don't intend to bully anyone."

"True." He admitted, "Our species is one to hold prejudice. I don't pretend I'm immune to it."

We swung right into what was clearly a marketplace. There was nothing but armor and weapons displayed on the multiple tables lining the big room. Salesmen of all species were standing behind the table, talking to customers and setting up deals.

"I'm surprised to find so many arms dealers on the Presidium." I observed.

"The Citadel is a large military hub, on top of everything else." Roluck pointed out, "A lot of mercenaries pass through here, too. Selling arms and armor is one of the best ways to make a living."

We split up after that and I spent about an hour and a half browsing through weapons upgrades before I settled on a an extended scope and barrel for the Black Widow. Around 1030, I started searching for Roluck, whom I found near an assault rifle kiosk.

"Time to go?" He asked. I just nodded. We both took off quietly, headed for the elevator at the other end of this division.

"Good thing you're with us or you might've not gotten word." Roluck said, "We've gotten another ship. This one is a frigate of our making. Supposed to be very fast, drop us in and bug out before meeting back up with us at our extraction."

"How is it, weapons-wise?" I asked.

"No different than a normal frigate." Roluck answered. "It's meant to get us into an area fast, drop us off and pick us up. Nothing more."

"The crew?" I wondered as we walked into the elevator.

"We'll have to recruit them as we go." Roluck answered darkly. "Not enough pilots and engineers and analysts to go around, apparently. Still, part of the reason for this new ship is to further the interspecies cooperation we're supposed to be having. "

"You didn't just recruit me to get a new ship?" I wondered. Roluck scoffed.

"We were just as surprised about the ship as you are." He said, "What you did on Eden Prime was very impressive. A little crazy, but impressive. Trust me, we're recruiting you because you're strong enough to pull through the missions we go through."

"Speaking of which," I asked, as we walked into a docking area. There were a bunch of ships of all types here, each docked to a long walkway that branched off of the main walkway. It was loud out here, with ships passing by every few seconds and traveling in every direction imaginable. "what's our mission?"

"Wait until we get on the ship." Roluck answered instantly.

We turned down one long walkway and I could see a ship at the end of it. The ship was clearly turian, looking from the outside. It was silver and smooth, built larger at the back end and narrowing at the front end. The cockpit was up front and four powerful engines were housed under the 'wings' at the back of the craft. There was a red line painted across both sides of the ship.

"That's our ship?" I wondered, dumbfounded.

"Yes." Roluck replied with a nod, "She's named 'The Peacemaker'."

I laughed at the irony of that one, then looked at Roluck.

"Well," I said, "Let's try her out."


	4. Chapter 4

When we'd boarded, the rest of the team had already been there. Elura (Who I was realizing was the leader of this group). Getting acquainted with the ship was a nightmare. There were five decks, with stairs and one elevator running between them. There was the Bridge/Cockpit, Maintenance, Crew Berthing/Mess Hall, Engineering and the Armory/Garage. I'd spent a few minutes looking around, before deciding that it was an exercise in futility to try and learn my way around the ship in an hour. I'd just pick it up as I went.

The ship was quiet and built completely for utility. I had a rack in the Crew Berthing that was certainly; large enough to accommodate me. There were a few uniforms waiting on me, along with some miscellaneous off duty clothes. I'd come down to the armory to find my requisitioned gear and had decided that I would be spending most of my time in the Armory and Garage. I was good with vehicles and guns, so I might as well put those skills to good use. I'd swapped out the biotic amp at the port near my neck, then covered the port back up.

So here I was in the armory, with my new Black Widow. It certainly lived up to its intimidating was massive, with stands up front to set the weapon on. The magazine could hold three rounds, which seemed pointless until in the midst of combat. Especially considering the firing rate of this weapon, which was much higher than any other semi-automatic sniper rifle.

This garage had a Mako and a small dropship in it, for vehicles. I wasn't a huge fan of the Mako, due to it's famed problems with maneuverability, but the thing was still a tank. It could take one hell of a beating and dish the beatings back out before it needed to be repaired. As for the dropship, it was a simple red transport. Sleek, black tinted windows to hide the occupants and enough engine power to get it into orbit if need be.

We had a half hour where Errahe was going to get used to the ship controls, then we'd have our mission briefing up in the comms center on the bridge. I wondered what was going on, but I could wait until the briefing, like everyone else.

It was hot in here, but I wasn't too worried about regs on this ship, so I'd stripped off the uniform top and simply wore the white t-shirt as I fitted the scope to the Black Widow. I heard the door open behind me and turned to find Elura walking out of the elevator. She seemed to focus on me instantly.

"Just the man I wanted to talk to." She greeted, smiling amiably, "Wanted to stop and chat, if you don't mind."

"Yeah," I told her, setting down the small screwdriver I was using to set the extended scope in, "I've got time."

She gestured to a stack of ammo crates, which I seated myself on before looking up at her.

_She's a lot nicer than I expected of a commander._ I observed. _I wonder if that extends to all asari or if she's just a special case._

"I'm curious." she said, "I haven't interacted with a lot of humans before. Mostly in passing."

"We're not that different." I replied with a shrug. "Hell, we eat the same food you do. More or less."

"I know," she said, "but everyone comes from a different background. I'd like to know about yours'."

"Fair enough." I answered, twirling the screwdriver in between my fingers. I didn't have too much of a story to tell her, but I entertained her nonetheless. "It's not a very exciting story. Spent all of my upbringing on a small colony world near Eden Prime. I've got six years in, split between two colony worlds. I have biotic capabilities, but no structured training beyond how to keep them from interfering with normal life. I'm trained as a standard Marine infantryman, but I've been to sniper school, so I know how to handle that baby-"

I nodded to the Black Widow.

"Dad was in the military, mom was a cop." I continued, "Eventually, when dad became an Admiral-"

"Your dad is an Admiral?" She interrupted me, looking very interested. I nearly groaned.

I hate explaining this.

"Yeah, he is." I answered, "He is part of the Alliance's Fourth Fleet. I was mostly raised by my mother because he was always gone. I don't begrudge it; he was doing the right thing."

"You seem to have some animosity for him." She observed lightly, heading for the bench and looking at the Black Widow.

"Not exactly him." I answered, "I love my father. More like...his reputation."

"What do you mean?" She asked, clearly curious.

_I mean it's like being the son of a President._

It was true. Everywhere I went in the Alliance, I was handled with the kiddie gloves on. My father was a hero of the First Contact War for a maneuver during the turian counterattack that had obliterated a quarter of their fleet. Ever since then, everybody knew his name. When I'd joined, I had quickly found out that having his name meant that I got treated differently, with a certain gentleness. That was what Eden Prime had been: An easy assignment where I'd never see action against pirates or slavers.

_And look where that got me._ Came the amused thought.

"I'd...rather not have this discussion," I told Elura, "if it's all the same to you."

"That's fine." She shrugged. To my relief, she didn't look particularly offended or disturbed by the interruption.

"So how about you?" I wondered, "What's your story?"

"Not much of a different story than the typical Asari Commando." She answered, "I grew up on Thessia for my first forty years. My mother was an asari Matriarch and my father was a krogan. I've seen a lot of covert action. Infiltration and assassinations. After about sixty years of that, I was accepted onto STT Zeta."

There was one little nugget in there that had forced me to ignore everything else she said while I processed it.

"Wait," I asked, still trying to figure it out, "so you're part krogan?"

"Technically, yes." She answered. "Really, I'm all asari, but I have some...tendencies...that the krogan have."

"Such as?"

"You'll see when we get into combat." She muttered. I got the feeling that whatever her problem was, she caught a lot of good-natured shit for it.

"So the asari are fine with inter-species mating?" I asked.

I immediately winced at the question.

_I hope she doesn't think I'm referring to her._

"Not only fine," She said, "it's encouraged. Asari who procreate with other asari are frowned upon."

"So how old are you?" I inquired.

"Three-hundred and seventy years old." She answered instantly. I almost gaped. She'd been with STT Zeta for the last 270 years. No wonder she was in charge of the team.

"Damn." I sad, "You must've seen some pretty serious shit."

"Yeah." She muttered, eyes starting to glaze over a bit. "Yeah, I've seen some things I wish I never had."

"Like?" I ventured.

She seemed to shake herself out of it, her gaze getting a little more clear.

"It's not important." she answered, plastering a smile on her face. It looked slightly...off. "Besides, I think we've all got a bad story or two. You were recruited because of yours."

"True enough." I said, letting it go.

"Well, I think that's enough storytime today." She ended with a grin, "You should take the time before the briefing to get to know the other two."

"I will." I assured her. She turned around and started walking off towards the elevator.

I spent the next ten minutes fixing the barrel onto the Black Widow, before storing the gun in my arms locker with my bulky, dark blue armor. I'd requested the color, due to the fact that the usual black didn't blend in against the sky as much as a dark blue did.

I closed the locker, locked it up and then put the shirt back on. Following that, I headed for the elevator. I knew that I could find Errahe up in the cockpit. Roluck...I was going to take a stab in the dark and try to find him in the mess hall.

First, I wanted to talk to Errahe. I'd seen asari and a turian before, but never a salarian. I was curious if his hyperactivity was normal for their species or if he was an exception.

When the door opened, I found myself at the command center. There was a circular room here, with terminals and controls of all sorts. All the chairs were empty. I was really surprised to find that General Tulious had just been willing to let us go without a crew. Then again, unless we were in combat, we wouldn't need to touch these controls.

At the other end of the circle was a walkway leading to the cockpit. I walked down, still kind of put-off by the absent crew. There were two chairs up front, but Errahe was in front of the pilot controls. I could see the expanse of space before us as we crept towards the Mass Relay. Every couple of seconds, he'd tilt the ship or turn it just slightly, to get an idea of the maneuvering ability of this ship.

"What's up, Errahe." I asked.

"Ah, Henry." He said, turning from the controls and fixing me with a look that bordered on concern. "Wanted to speak with you, make sure you're alright. Very vicious combat on Eden Prime. Loss of comrades not something to take lightly."

"I'm fine, Errahe." I told him, "Seriously."

"Good, good." Errahe said, "Don't want you going crazy behind scope of sniper rifle while you're covering us."

I chuckled, instantly put at ease by the joke.

_He's funnier than I thought he'd be._

I sat down next to him in the co-pilot chair.

"So what's your story?" I asked.

"Grew up on Sur'Kesh." He told me, "Father worked at a nearby STG base. Wanted to be like him."

"I know the feeling." I answered, "I was a military brat, myself. My dad's an Admiral with the Alliance."

"Yes," Errahe said, nodding exuberantly, "Stressful, at times. People expect a lot of you. Never could figure out why. Joined military at fifteen, joined STG at twenty. Was STG for six years, then was asked to join STT Zeta. Been doing this for two years. Usually work as pilot, if nobody else around. Would appreciate better pilot, though. Not trained for dogfights."

"You joined at fifteen?" I asked.

"Salarian lifespan usually never goes past forty." Errahe. "Even Dalatrass only thirty-five."

"Dalatrass?" I asked.

"Leaders of society." He answered. "Angered a couple of them before."

I wasn't surprised.

"Well, it was good catching up with you." I told him, "I gotta go check out what Roluck is up to."

"Have fun." Errahe said, "Maybe you can convince him to pull the stick out of his ass."

I laughed and as I walked away, ended with "If you ever need help with your weapons, let me know. I'll be down in the armory."

He wasn't paying attention anymore. I could hear him humming to himself. I smiled and headed back to the elevator.

The mess hall was the first room leading off of the elevator. It wasn't as big as most galleys, but it was still large enough to fit forty people in at a time. There wasn't a cook (yet) but there were rations, for now. Across from the elevator, on the other side of the mess hall, was a big door that led to the crew berthing spaces.

And sure enough, sitting alone at one of the tables, was Roluck. He was eating a plate of nasty-looking grey shit, slowly spooning it into his mouth. I'd come to the conclusion, from seeing him, that he was bigger than most turians. He was probably more of a heavier-built physique, for them.

He looked up at me as the elevator opened.

"Henry." He greeted. I nodded to him and headed for the kitchen. I searched around all the cupboards in there to find a generous helping of very disorganized canned food sitting in front of me. It looked as though they'd been organized by someone who wasn't human, judging from the complete lack of grouping.

"Well," I muttered to myself, "Looks like the Alliance is once again supplying its best."

I sighed and popped open a can of condensed 'ham'. I looked down into the can to find a spongy pink mass. I grabbed a fork and sat down opposite Roluck.

"No offense." He said, looking at my 'ham', "That looks like shit."

I spooned a little into my mouth and was instantly blasted by the flavor of cardboard, grease and ass.

_Who makes this stuff?_ I wondered.

"Tastes like it, too." I groaned as I started chewing through it. It tasted foul and the texture was completely off. "Anyways, been trying to figure everyone out. What's your history?"

"Well," He answered. That's when I first caught a difference in his voice. Somehow, in someway, it sounded like there was a second voice. His voice was gravelly, but there was a voice echoing right behind it that sounded slightly deeper. It was strange. "I was in the 43rd Marine Division for ten years before being bumped up into Blackwatch. From there, I somehow saw a lot less action until I was recruited to STT Zeta a year ago."

"No disrespect intended," I started, "But if you didn't see much action, why were you sent to Zeta?"

"Politics." He grunted, sounding incredibly annoyed. "I was one of the only Blackwatch who didn't have some sort of horrendous action on file. I was much more presentable on paper, so I was sent to STT Zeta, since we have to look nice. Since Zeta, though, I've seen a lot more combat than I'd expect. Usually just skirmish-sized battle, but occasionally we have a full-on battle when we greet new species. Like when we approached the yahg for a second time. That was rough."

"The yahg?" I wondered, finishing the tube of pink bullshit. I pushed it away, feeling disgusted.

"Pre-flight species." He answered, scratching at his chin, "Big vicious aliens. They're worse than the krogan by a mile. STT Zeta barely got off that planet alive. Anyways, I'm glad to be here."

From his tone, he was incredibly relieved to be in this outfit. Which made me wonder exactly why he hadn't seen much combat with the Blackwatch. I decided not to push the issue, just yet.

"So-" I started, about to ask him about it, when a voice came over the intercom.

"Henry, Roluck, Errahe." Elura called over the intercom, "Please report to the briefing room."

The briefing room was connected to the comms center on the bridge, so I was going to have to go right back the way I'd came.

"Well." I said, standing up. "Guess we're headed upstairs."

"Yeah." Roluck said, following me to the elevator. "Time to see what the Council has in store for us."

The elevator started to ascend and I looked at Roluck.

"By the way," I told him, "I'm planning on staying down in the armory between missions, sleep and eating. I'll be working on the weapons, armor and vehicles. If you need any help in that area, let me know."

"I don't let anybody touch my gun." The turian grunted.

"That explains a lot." I muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." I lied as the door opened. Errahe was already walking past the elevator, headed towards the door to the left of the elevator. We fell in behind him and entered the door.

The briefing room was big enough to fit a dozen people in comfortably, mainly due to the fact that it was meant for an entire frigate full of turian officers. There was a table in the middle, surrounded by chairs and with a holographic projector set in the middle. At the end of the room, Elura was waiting, typing on a console.

"So we're being asked to oversee an exchange, of sorts." She explained without introduction. "We're picking up a skeleton crew."

"From who?" Errahe asked. "Wait, don't answer. Can't be the Alliance, they would've sent one already. Not Council species, or they'd be here already-"

He was talking really fast, trying to using deduction to figure out who it was. I looked at Roluck, who just shrugged.

"He...does this sometiimes." He explained, seating himself. I took a seat next to him as Errahe blazed on.

"Krogan not suitable as technical experts." He observed, "Batarians not team players. Hanar and elcor aren't compatible with ship controls. Which leaves quarian."

"Correct." Elura said, turning on the holographic display. There was a world being displayed and it looked pretty habitable.

So at least we won't be meeting on Tachunka or some other shitty planet. I thought to myself. Because cleaning dust and crap out of the joints of my armor is not something I need right now.

"This is Intal'sei." She said, "Located in the Pheonix cluster of Argos Rho. This will be our meeting ground for the quarian. It'll be pretty damn hot, but that's the only downside. The quarian have agreed to trade a crew for increased rights to purchase supplies from the Citadel. Them being very wary of the Citadel and with the geth on the offensive, they're more paranoid than ever. Thus the completely secret meeting."

"Two questions." I said, raising my hand.

"Yes?"

"First, I don't really know much about the quarians."

"They're a rather nomadic bunch." Elura explained. "They hang out on the fringes of the galaxy and generally only leave the flotilla for supplies, new ships or scouting. Other than that, they keep to themselves. The geth have them running scared right now, since this incursion on Eden Prime is so unprecedented. They're more than okay with this deal, as is the crew we're picking up. There are a dozen of them, all suited towards different tasks, so they can keep the ship running with just them. Obviously, we'll be picking up more crew members as we go, but this is fine for now."

She pulled up another holograph, this one of a quarian. This quarian was wearing a dark red hood, with black inlaid patterns on it. The rest of her armor was mostly black, with some more dark red peeking out in spots. She wore a mask with a breather on the end, so I couldn't get an idea of what her face looked like. I did see two spectral eyes peeking out, though. Other than that, the only other observation was the fact that she had three fingers per hand, which was kind of weird. Also, she had very wide hips. It looked...unnatural.

_But not unattractive._ My enthusiastic mind observed, _Quite the opposite._

I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. I had more important things to worry about, right now.

"Their CO is a woman by the name of Lena'Zuril Vas Iline." Elura said, "She's apparently got a pretty serious combat record under her belt when the planet she lived on while on her pilgrimage came under siege for two months by pirates. Only twenty-two years old. So we might see if she can have a use in ground operations, as well. They have enough rations to tide them over until we get back onto the Citadel, where they will be able to purchase more."

Roluck groaned, though I couldn't see why. Errahe shot him a curious look with his wide eyes.

"We can't just let a bunch of quarian go running wild through the Citadel." He said.

"Do you have something against them?" Errahe asked.

"No." He answered indignantly, his mandibles twitching in annoyance, "I've been beyond the Citadel and core worlds, I've adjusted to other cultures. At the Citadel, though? They'll be getting mugged and attacked constantly."

"He brings up a valid argument." Errahe agreed, looking up at Elura.

"Hell," I said, "I'll escort 'em around."

Everyone looked at me and I cleared my throat. I hated being the center of attention, even in a small group like this one.

"I don't really have ties to the Citadel." I told them. "I don't have any friends or family there, so I have nobody to visit. If it'll help us out, I'd be glad to do it."

"Well..." Elura said, "That settles that."

"Second." I started, "Are we expecting trouble on this pickup?"

"Always expect trouble." Errahe answered. "Otherwise, make trouble."

"To that end," Elura said, "We have a task for you."

"Oh?" I asked, feeling my eyebrow raise.

She pulled up another hologram. This one was of a valley, surrounded by rocky formations.

"This is where we will meet." She said. "Since the quarian are all about keeping their ships, they'll be coming with a small frigate. The frigate will hover, then drop off the crew. We want you camped out here-"

She indicated a small spot on the mountainside.

"So we can make sure nothing goes wrong." She finished, "We'll pick you up on the way out."

"I'm game." I told them, "How long have I got to prepare?"

"An hour." She said, "It'll be night time when we get there, so you'll have sufficient cover of darkness."

"Alright." I told her, "I'll be down in the armory, if you need me."

"Dismissed." Elura said.


	5. Chapter 5

I resisted the urge to scratch my back. I was sweating up under the plates of my armor, but I guess that's just the price you paid for near-impenetrable armor. It was the middle of the night, but that didn't stop if from being over ninety degrees and way too humid. I had the black widow out, with the stands on the end propped up on the very edge of this little cliff. The ship was hovering, waiting for my go-ahead. I scanned the area through the scope. Rocks, a little river...nothing else. Not even wildlife of any sort.

"Zeta," I reported, "The valley is clear. You're good to land."

The ship touched down in a concealed part of the valley and there was a moment before the door opened. The rest of the team stepped out, guns at the ready, until they were assured the area was clear. I started scanning the surrounding mountains, making sure there was nobody sitting up there with a rifle, like I was. Things looked clear, from what I could see.

"Surrounding mountains are clear." I reported.

"Good." Elura answered, "Can you see the quarian ship coming in?"

I looked up from the scope. From my point up here, I'd be able to see the ship from a long ways off, compared to the team, whose view was blocked by mountains. It was difficult to see anything incoming, mostly due to the fact that it was dark. But as I stared up at the sky, I saw something slowly blotting out stars. Something up there was moving.

"I've got eyes on something." I replied, "Give me a moment."

I sighted in with my rifle and was able to see the form more clearly. The quarian ship looked odd. It was cylindrical along its length, then there was what some sort of circular construct up front that was installed near the bridge.

_The shape reminds me of a key._ I thought to myself.

There was something wrong with the way it was flying. I heard the engines very distantly and they sounded like they were choking. I saw smoke coming out of the back of the engines and though the engines weren't a ball of fire, I could see electricity running over their surface.

"I think it's them!" I yelled, "Their engines are disabled, I think they're about to go down in the valley! Take cover!"

I glanced down to see STT Zeta look up in time to see the quarian ship coming in. They took off, back towards the transport. I watched the ship getting ready to plow into the side of the mountain. Their mass effect fields were still producing enough resistance to slow the ship down, but not enough for a landing. It looked like the ship was going to crash about a half mile away from me, off to my left.

_Wait._ I thought to myself, W_hat shot at them?_

I looked up through the scope to see another ship coming in. This one was much smaller and much more sleek.

"Got another ship." I said, "Not one hundred percent sure, but I think it's yellow and black. Maybe a mile out."

"Eclipse." Roluck answered instantly. "They were attacked by a bunch of damned slavers."

"Orders?" I asked. I watched the quarian ship collide with the mountain with a spectacular crash. There was no big fireball, like I always saw in the vids. The front of the ship snapped off and the back end turned and slammed into the rocks. The ship rolled over onto its back before settling. I could just barely make out the sounds of the other ship.

"Move closer to the crash." Elura answered. "Make sure you stay hidden. We're going to ambush these Eclipse. Do not engage until we get there."

"Acknowledged." I replied. I pushed myself off the ground, picked up the Black Widow and started jogging towards the crash site. I did my best to stay near large boulders and trees, to minimize my chance of being discerned from the air. I was in luck, ducking down as the Eclipse ship passed directly over me. They wouldn't have seen me, coming from that angle.

I hated running in heavy armor. I guess I'd chosen it, though. The armor had shock absorbers and servos built in to reduce the impact a 120 pound set of armor would put on the legs and back, but that didn't mean my muscles didn't get a workout as I jogged. I felt sweat sliding down my face as I kept at it. Only had to go a little over a third of a mile. After a couple minutes, Elura came over my radio.

"What's your ETA?" Elura asked.

"I'll be there in a couple minutes." I nearly gasped.

"Out of breath?" She wondered, sounding almost amused.

"I'm a fighter, not a runner." I grunted. "I'll pick up the pace."

"We're going to hit them as soon as they're out of the ship." Elura told me, "I don't want them barricading themselves in and I don't want to have to shoot around quarians.

I pushed myself a little faster and within a minute, found myself within shooting distance of the crash site. I was, maybe, six hundred meters away. I looked around as the slavers started to leave the ship. I found a good outcropping of rock that overhung the mountain. I got down on my belly and aimed in at the scene in front of me.

The quarians hadn't left their ship yet. They were either dead and injured or they were trying to play hide and go seek with the slavers. The slavers were starting to file out of the ship, not heading for the ship yet, but making sure they were accounted for before moving in for the capture. There was, maybe, fifty yards between the two ships, which would be a lot of ground to cover. There were only fifteen slavers, at most.

"I'm in position." I told Elura, trying to control my heavy breathing. I looked closely and found the team behind an outcropping of rocks directly opposite me. "I'm across from you."

"Perfect." Elura said. "I want you to fire first. You'll draw their attention and we'll attack them from behind. Shoot when you're ready."

I adjusted the rifle in my shoulder, making sure it was properly set. There was so much padding in the shoulder plates of this armor that it would absorb pretty much all of the recoil of this weapon. I sighted in again and scanned over the crowd, trying to pick out my target. There was one salarian who was directing orders at the others. He would be my first target. I tightened my fingertip around the trigger until I had almost pulled it back all the way.

"Firing in three."

I took a breath, let it out and before I inhaled again, fired. There was a boom from the rifle and a hole suddenly appeared in the back of the salarian's head. His legs gave out and he dropped to the ground, already dead. The Eclipse, to their credit, reacted instantly. They turned towards me, to try and find the source of the shot.

Not enough. They were on their guard, now, but if the rest of the team fired, they would only take out five or six before they were beset upon and possibly killed. I needed everyone's attention completely focused on me.

I found an asari in the group who was scanning the mountainside, trying to find me. I fired twice within two seconds, sending a pair of rounds through the asari's back. I'm pretty sure one had severed her spine. That was a death sentence for her. She sagged to the ground, unmoving.

I'd been spotted, though. Rounds were suddenly coming my way. I was too far out for accurate firing from pistols, SMGs and assault rifles. However, with a dozen of them, it didn't matter how inaccurate they were. There was still a hail of rounds being sent my way and only a couple needed to hit. I drew back, yanking the thermal clip from the rifle.

"Reloading!" I yelled, "Hit them in a couple of seconds!"

"Acknowledged!" Elura yelled in my ear.

I didn't want them to fire on the slavers while I was reloading, because that'd put the focus solely on them. I shoved a fresh thermal clip into the Black Widow, then rolled to the side a little bit. I'd prefer to start firing again a little further from where I'd originally been.

I peeked over the edge with the rifle and found the Eclipse still firing at the spot I'd been. I heard whines and pings crashing through my ears as puffs of dirt were thrown up in front of me. One round even skipped off the forearm shields of my armor. I winced, but sighted back in.

I fired at a human with an assault rifle pointed my way and he went down, a hole punched in his gut. At the same time, the rest of the team started their assault. Elura darted from around the rock, a blue barrier around her. She lifted a hand towards the group and a slaver was picked up and slammed into the side of his own ship with a force that killed him. Roluck had sighted in with assault rifle and put down two slavers in a flash with incredibly accurate head shots. I put a pair of rounds into another asari as Errahe annihilated a shotgun-wielding salarian with a flurry of rounds from his SMG.

In that brief strike, we'd cut their numbers by a full half. The survivors started to back toward the quarian ship.

_Shit,_ I thought to myself, _We're going to have to finish this quick._

Unfortunately, the rest of Zeta had lost the element of surprise and were firing from cover, making it a much more risky investment to take down the last six slavers. I reloaded as a couple of rounds came my way. I fired at a salarian who was close to the quarian ship's hatch. He went down, a hole in his back. I didn't bother making sure he was dead before I moved onto another asari. Before I could hit her, Roluck put her down with a shot to the head. The salarian I'd just shot received a hail of fire from Errahe as Elura sent a ball of power at a human. The ball hit him in the side of his neck, snapping it and sending him down.

Three left and that was when the universe decided to up the ante.

A quarian...no, the same quarian from the brief, came stumbling out of the hatch, clearly disoriented. She stumbled, falling and landing on all fours as she slowly shook her head to clear it.

_She does look strange._ I realized. _The three fingers and two toes, the very wide hips..._

The slavers spotted her and rushed towards her, clearly figuring her for their salvation.

I sighted in and shot one in the in the leg, tripping him. He was finished by Errahe. Roluck opened fire on the human in front, but he was sprinting too fast to be an easy hit. The salarian behind him was not as fast, though. I clipped him in the shoulder with a round and he slowed. Elura blasted him nearly in two with the shotgun. Half krogan was right. She looked like she was out of her mind with rage.

I could only watch and reload as the human grabbed Lena'Zuril and forced her up, hugging her to his body. She was facing towards me, her head forced over his shoulder. He was pointing his weapon towards the rest of the team and I was pretty sure if I shot him, there was a solid chance the bullet would pass through and hit the quarian

"Dammit." I cursed over the radio, "I can't shoot him without hitting her."

"Get in closer. Stay undetected, if you can. Take a shot if you got it." Elura directed. The slaver was too far from her to hear the words as he slowly edged towards his ship.

I rose from my position, finishing the swap of the thermal clips. I crept closer, picking my way down rocks and bushes. I tried to make as little noise as I could, which was slowing my descent dramatically.

The last slaver was yelling at the rest of Zeta, who had surrounded him but were not able to block his progress to the ship. He might very well get away. I looked at his ship as I crept. I'd have to see the smug bastard right through the cockpit as he escaped into the-

_Wait a minute._ I thought to myself, struck by an epiphany.

"Let him go." I told Elura. I settled down on my stomach again and I saw the quarian look up at me. "I'll take care of him."

"You better be sure about this." Elura's voice echoed in my helmet. She yelled something to the rest of Zeta and they lowered their weapons. Lena'Zuril was surprisingly quiet as she was dragged the rest of the way to the ship.

"Alright, c'mon." I muttered, sticking the stock of the weapon into my shoulder and sighting in on the cockpit. I could see movement there, but he hadn't entered it yet. The hatch to the Eclipse ship closed and the rest of the team looked up at me.

"Dammit, Henry!" Roluck yelled in my ear, "He's going to get away with her."

"No he's not." I assured him offhand as the last slaver settled into the pilot's seat. I doubt he'd put the shield up, just yet. Small arms wouldn't damage most of the ship and he was in a hurry.

He looked up and I could swear he saw me right before I fired. I smiled and pulled the trigger. In an explosion of glass, the round passed through the cockpit shielding and imbedded itself in the slaver's head. He sagged in the chair, dead, as the hole in his forehead started to leak blood.

"Last one down." I informed the rest of Zeta.

"Damn." Roluck muttered as I stood up. "I guess I owe you an apology."

"No apology necessary." I answered, finishing my hike down the mountain. The hatch to the Eclipse ship opened and Lena'Zuril stumbled out, still a little dazed but not completely stunned.

"My crew." She gasped, her very feminine voice nearly mechanic, "They're still in there. They're still alive."

"Let's get them loaded on." Elura acknowledged. "We've got enough supplies on our ship to patch up any suit perforations and treat any infections."

"Thank you." Lena'Zuril said with a nod. "And thank you for saving my life. My name is Lena'Zuril vas Iline. I'm the leader of the group here."

"Thank him." Roluck said, raising his arm and pointing at me briefly, "He's the one who made the call."

She looked at me briefly with glowing silver eyes, but didn't say anything else.

Elura gestured for me to join her, Roluck and Errahe.

"I've got enough medical training to work around the quarian's immune system." She informed us quietly. "I'll get Lena'Zuril on the ship and bring it in closer. Then we can start processing the quarian. Those with the most suit punctures and serious injuries come first."

"You got it." Roluck said, "Miss vas Iline, where are they located?"

"They were in the crew berthing, for safety."

"We'll grab em." He answered.

Lena'Zuril and Elura walked off towards the Peacemaker and the three of us walked into the quarian ship. We were immediately greeted by dark hallways. It wasn't simply because of the crash. It seemed the quarians liked their ships darker than us or the turians. I also noticed that there was a monumental amount of clutter on the floor. While it was to be expected from a crash, it indicated that these crates and miscellaneous objects had been cluttering the halls before they'd been knocked over. The ship was quiet, save for the occasional clang of metal against metal as something fell to the deck around the ship.

There were directions directly in front of us, but none of us could read them.

"Hello?!" Roluck yelled, his voice booming through the intersection. "This is STT Zeta! The slavers have been eliminated!"

"In here." A rough voice yelled distantly. We turned left and started picking our way through the wreckage as we walked. A figure came out of a doorway down the hall. He was clad in a grey and black suit.

"Sergeant Zent'Alaar vas Isla." He introduced, "I was security for the ship."

He looked armed enough for security. He had a pretty unique assault rifle in his hands. It was large and bulky, with a black lower receiver and a silver upper receiver. There was a handle on the top and two barrels set on top and bottom at the end of the gun. An M-96 Mattock, unless I was much mistaken. That was a strange weapon to see, here.

"Why did you let Lena'Zuril off the ship?" Roluck demanded, his voice only slightly raised.

"She survived?" He asked, surprised. "I didn't even know she was alive. She was up front and I was back here protecting the non-combatants."

"Fine." Roluck snapped, still looking a little annoyed. "Do you have injured?"

"Several." He answered, jerking his head towards the door to indicate that we should follow him. We ended up in the crew quarters, which was a bunch of hammocks strung up all around the place. Most were empty, but there were a few with wounded quarians in them. Four, from my count.

"We'll grab the wounded." I said, "The rest of your people pull any supplies you want to take to the ship. We'll be parked right outside."

"Alright." He answered, "I'm not quite sure what to do, since I was supposed to return with the ship and pilot. Now both are dead."

"We'll get it sorted out." Roluck answered, "For now, the wounded."

Roluck and Errahe each grabbed a quarian. I approached another, a larger quarian. He looked at me, his breathing ragged.

"We're gonna get you guys all patched up." I reassured him as I picked him up gently in my arms. I carried him out, with Sergeant Zent'Alaar carrying the last one behind me.

When we got to the ship, we headed for the med-bay immediately. Lena'Zuril and Elura were already prepared, disinfecting everything we touched as we moved out of the med-bay.

"Hey." Someone called as I made to leave. I turned to find Lena'Zuril looking at me, her expression unreadable under the mask, "Thanks for making sure that bosh'tet didn't kidnap me."

"It's all part of the service." I said with a shrug. Elura glanced up at me, then added:

"Lena'Zuril told me there is a number of supplies for the quarian in their ship. We're going to stay here until we strip the ship as best we can. Get teams made up so we can grab everything. Have Roluck strip the Eclipse ship for anything we can use, as well."

"You got it."

"And good job."

I smiled as I walked out of the med-bay, head held high.


	6. Chapter 6

All of the quarians were expected to make a full recovery, from what Elura had said. It'd be about fifteen minutes before we got to the Citadel. In the meantime, I was breaking down all of the weapons and armor we'd salvaged from the slavers. Most of the weapons I was using for parts, though I was salvaging the occasional scope, barrel or thermal clip upgrades that I came across. The armor was something I'd sort through, later.

Once again, it was the off-duty uniform pants and white t-shirt. It was too hot for me to be wearing my full uniform down here.

As I worked through the same Mantis sniper rifle that asari had been searching for me with, the elevator opened behind me. I turned to see Lena'Zuril exiting the elevator, looking around the bay. I didn't get in her way, continuing to hammer pins out of the weapon and pull it apart. I picked the bolt out of the upper receiver, first. I was about to set to work on unscrewing the barrel, when Lena'Zuril spoke up.

"I heard you're our mechanic." She said, watching me deconstruct the weapon with arms folded as she leaned against the Mako.

I chuckled and shook my head.

_Far from it._

"I don't know who told you that." I answered, looking up at her from my work. "I'm good with guns and vehicles. Anything other than that is for an engineer to deal with, I don't do ships."

"So what, exactly, does your dossier consist of?" She wondered. I heard the slightest catch to her voice. She sounded like she was trying to find out something besides what she'd asked.

"Not much." I told her honestly. I pulled the ammunition block out of the weapon, "I'm good with repairing vehicles and weapons. I'm a pretty good sniper. I have biotics, but no ability to use them. Other than that, I don't do much."

"Elura mentioned you've fought geth?"

There was that catch in her voice again, a catch that informed me she was way too interested in this particular subject. That's when I remembered that the geth had forced the quarians from their world. Which was part of the reason the Migrant Fleet just wandered around, almost seeming to be in penance.

"In that they massacred my company," I replied, "Yes."

"But you killed some?"

"Nineteen, from what the reports say." I said, tossing what was left of the sniper rifle into a pile of junk next to me. I picked up an Avenger assault rifle and began to disassemble it. "I was in no state to actually remember much of it."

"What did you think of them?" She asked, her head cocked to the side in curiosity.

"Organized and efficient." I told her, "They weren't heavily armored, making them easy to kill with larger rounds."

"Larger rounds?" She inquired.

"Weapons break off a piece of metal about the size of a grain of sand from a metal block inside the weapon." I explained. I'm sure she knew how to use a weapon, but most didn't know the details of how they worked. "Then, to put it simply, mass effect fields fire it. The bigger the weapon, the larger the piece taken off is."

"Ah." She agreed, "I've noticed the same. I've had to fight many geth before. I'm glad you know your way around a gun. Too many soldiers know how to shoot a gun but don't know how it works."

_Wait, what?_

I was a little bit confused.

"Were you testing me?" I concluded.

"I was." She confirmed with a nod. "I'm one of the quarian Marines, a fact which was not mentioned in the dossier sent here. A Lieutenant, actually, only twenty-two. I'm not an expert in engineering, but the team needs a leader, not another technical expert."

"Why the deception?" I asked.

"I wanted to get to know the team better." she answered with a shrug. "Soldiers tend to close up around other soldiers, professionally. Get some tech in there, though and the soldier may just start making things up. It gives me a feel for people."

"And what's your feel for me?" I wondered.

_Do you really want to know?_

"Why don't you remember much of your battle with the geth?" She asked, avoiding the question completely. I let her evade it.

"Honestly?" I asked her, "I was terrified. I'd never seen geth before and they'd mowed down my entire company. I ran from one for about a half mile before beating it to death with a piece of metal I'd come across. After that, I only held fast because my fellow Marines were with me. Everyone made it seem like I was a hero, when I objectively consider it cowardice."

"Hm." She answered, the answer giving me no clarification on exactly what she thought of the story. I wish I could see her face. I couldn't get much emotion without facial expressions.

"Peacemaker crew," Errahe said over the intercom, "Meet in comms center. Will be arriving at Citadel in moments."

"Sounds like we should head on up." I said, grabbing my shirt off the Mako and slipping into it. I grabbed my navy blue beret out of my cargo pocket and gently fitted it on as I finished buttoning up the jacket with the other hand.

Lena'Zuril hadn't answered, preferring to walk off towards the elevator. I hurried to catch up to her and we waited for the door. When it opened, we faced Elura and a crowd of quarians.

"Just finished the combat report and sent it to General Tulious." Elura told me as we stepped into the elevator. I turned towards the door as it closed. "Good thing, too, because he just managed to requisition a diplomatic badge for you."

"What for?" I asked as the elevator ascended.

"You're going to be escorting quarians around the Citadel." Elura explained, raising an eyebrow. I heard a little bit of indignation from a couple of them. "Not that I have a problem with quarians. I don't really care what other species think of you all and Henry is probably too clueless to have heard the prejudice and bad rumors."

"Thanks." I muttered.

"No problem." She answered with a smile, clearly not realizing the underhanded comment she'd made. "Anyways, chances are pretty good that somebody in the Citadel will try to start trouble with them. You swoop in with your badge and metaphorically slap them around a bit and get things done."

"What if they're attacking our group?" I asked.

"Then we literally slap them around." Lena'Zuril replied from behind me.

The door opened and we had to empty out the elevator immediately for the group of salarian doctors that were waiting for it. They hurried into it, closing the doors behind them. As we headed up to the cockpit, I was stopped by Sergeant Sterling. The group stopped behind me, save for Elura. She continued walking, turning left and exiting the ship.

"Good to see you again, Gerrard." He said, shaking my hand, "How did the mission go?"

"It was...eventful." I answered. "Why are you here?"

"I'm delivering your badge personally." He said. "General Toulius sent one to the office so we could bring it to you."

He held out a small badge pinned to a leather square. The badge was platinum and had the insignia of the three Council races on it. Under it was something written in the asari language. Over the insignias was my name.

"This'll identify you as someone with diplomatic privileges." He said, "Which should help the people around here take you more seriously if they decide to get squirrely with the quarians over there."

"Appreciate it, man." I told him.

"Anyways," He replied, turning back towards the exit, "I gotta get going. Good luck, Gerrard."

"Have a good one." I said, slipping the badge into my back pocket. I looked to Lena'Zuril. "Let's get going, shall we?"

"Where does everybody want to go?" she asked, looking back at her engineers. Everyone looked at each other, quiet, before one of them spoke up.

"We don't...really know much about this place." She said, "We've heard from a couple of our people who've been here that the Presidium is beautiful, though."

"Any objections?" Lena'Zuril asked, looking around. Everyone was silent. She looked back at me. "The Presidium it is, then."

We left the ship and were lucky enough that our ship was the only one docked in this bay. We had to ride the elevator up in two groups, because there were too many of us and not enough elevator to go around.

I went with the first group and when we got up to C-Sec, I noticed a not-so-subtle shift in the mood of the officers working around the elevator. Eyes were constantly glancing towards my group and a couple of C-Sec officers even checked their pockets when they walked past. I felt a little twinge of annoyance at the subtle racism, but let it pass. Mostly because they were cops, but also because they weren't overtly doing anything to disturb our group. The quarians wouldn't have noticed anyways, they were too busy looking around in what was probably awe.

We waited until the second group came up with Sergeant Zent'Alaar. They seemed just as stunned. Except for Lena'Zuril, who was glancing around at the C-Sec officers. If I was reading her body language right, she was very uncomfortable here. She was willing to bear with it, though, to giver her people their moment of wonder.

When everyone was done 'oohing' and 'aahing', we split up again for the elevator right in front of us that led up to the Presidium.

"I hate being escorted around like a child." One of the quarians, a woman, grumbled.

"You're not the childish ones." I reminded her, "Everyone else that has a problem with quarians are."

There was more silence and I did my best not to get visibly uncomfortable on being stuck inside this small elevator with six other people. When the door opened, however, it was another thing entirely. They walked out, sighing and happily pointing out different plants and the lakes. I felt a little bit of a kinship with them, having been equally dazed at coming here my first time.

The second group followed in a moment, looking just as stunned as the first. I looked around, ignoring the happy chatter as I saw reactions to the quarian group that were nearly the same as C-Sec's. Some of the people were even pointing, though they were pretty subtle about it. Didn't escape my notice, though. Nor Lena'Zuril's

"It's ridiculous how prejudiced people are against mine." She nearly growled. I couldn't really blame her for the anger. Humans weren't exactly the most beloved species in the galaxy, either

"Not much we can do about it." Sgt. Zent'Alaar observed. Lena'Zuril just sighed.

"I know." She answered, shaking her head.

Still, I was clearly in charge of this group and had two heavily armed quarian Marines with me. I seriously doubted anyone would be making a fuss.

"I want to see the market." One of them said. Sgt Zent'Alaar looked at me.

"No problem." I answered with a shrug.

They followed me to the market part of the Presidium, where I'd been shopping for weapon enhancements before leaving last time. Sergeant Zent and I stayed up at the entrance, keeping an eye out for everyone.

"It's strange, working combat ops with a human." Sergeant Zent'Alaar said. "Never thought of your species as a particularly combative one. Always thought of you all as politicians."

"War is in our blood, unfortunately." I told him, "We've spent thousands of years fighting each other constantly. Not like the asari or the salarians."

"That's not something to be proud of." He noted.

"Trust me, we're not." I replied, "So if you don't mind me asking, what's with the suits?"

He looked at me, surprised.

"You really don't know?" He asked, "Roluck and Elura kept mentioning suit punctures and you never asked why those were so dangerous?"

I shook my head.

"Well." He explained, "We're born with compromised immune systems. A small cough to you would be a possible death sentence to us. The suits keep us swimming in a haze of antibiotics."

_Well, damn. I thought our species had it rough._

"So anytime you have a suit puncture..." I started.

"We get sick." He finished.

I decided to switch from that incredibly depressing topic.

"Did you get any word from your people as to where you're going?"

"Nothing yet." He told me, "Though personally, it'd be nice for Lena and I to be a part of Zeta's action team. We've both seen plenty of action, but have spent our last few months languishing at the Migrant Fleet, protecting the bunkered-down Admirals."

"That sounds boring." I observed.

"It is." He confirmed with a nod, "But it's home. What about you? You have a home?"

"Not really." I shrugged. "Just sort of-"

I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I'd become so focused on the conversation that I hadn't been paying too much attention. Back behind the markets was a pair of alleyways that hit a corner and led down into the Wards. I saw something disappear around the corner. It hadn't been a smooth motion, though. It'd been more erratic and sudden.

"What the hell w-" I started, then looked down into the market. I only counted thirteen quarian here. There was one missing. I started walking fast towards the alley, completely oblivious to everything else around me. "Zent, let's go."

"Shit." He complained, but followed me without a second thought.

"Lieutenant!" He yelled. I saw Lena over near a tech stall. She glanced up at us. As did several others. "Keep an eye on them."

She nodded and started gathering the quarian to her. From their body language, they looked confused and very unsettles as the two of us reached the alley.

"-what she looks like under there." I heard a turian voice saying.

"Have some fun with her," A voice, this one asari, was saying, "Dump her in the Wards...nobody will know the difference."

As we neared the corner, I heard muffled sounds and frantic moaning. I stopped right before the corner and looked at Zent. He hefted his shotgun and I shook my head. This was disgusting, but not worth killing over unless they fired first.

I didn't know how much body language the quarians knew, but I'd learned early on that nodding and shaking of the head was pretty much universally understood. He put the shotgun away and nodded to me.

I swept around the corner to find myself staring down a pair of people who had grabbed what looked like the same quarian who'd been talking in the elevator. A turian and an asari were both manhandling the poor woman. The turian had grabbed her from behind, pressing one hand against the speaker on her mask while the other held and groped her. The asari was licking her lips, a knife in hand and heading for the qurian's suit. Both were wearing armor of a matching blue color.

They both turned to us, surprise in their eyes. I went for the asari first, wrapping a hand around her wrist while twisting and throwing her to the ground under me. I heard a grunt from the turian as the asari and I hit the floor, but as soon as I moved to elbow her, she glowed blue and sent me through the air. I slammed into the wall of the alleyway, which subsequently ended with the back of my head slamming into the wall.

I saw bright dots in my vision but still managed to focus enough to see the asari smirk, holding a hand out to me while drawing the other back. The other hand was surrounded by the same blue aura that surrounded her. Well, I guess she was going to kill me, then. I just watched that blue fist, immobilized by the field around me.

A shot rang out and her right shoulder jerked backwards, spraying blood everywhere. She cried out and I dropped to the ground, while I somehow managed to stay on my feet. I focused on the asari's face, drew my fist back and slugged her across the jaw as hard as I could. With a heavy thud, she hit the ground.

I looked to my left to see the quarian girl holding a pistol in her shaking hands. Zent had knocked out the turian and was currently binding his claws and feet together. I took his cue and flipped the asari over so I could kneel on the upper part of her spine. I figured that, spine or not, this still gave me the greatest leverage over her.

"It's alright, Risha." Zent assured the girl, easing the pistol out of her hands. The turian woke up and began struggling, hissing under his breath at Zent. "And shut up, you."

The asari woke and began struggling, but I had her pinned.

There was a scuffing sound and a trio of C-Sec officers came around the corner, weapons out. They were all turian and I realized we might be having a slight problem. Turians weren't exactly fond of humans. Or quarians.

"What's going on here?" The lead turian demanded.

"Officer." I said, "Glad you got here. These two-"

The asari groaned, but I increased the pressure to shut her up.

"Were trying to abduct my quarian friend here."

"Is this true?" The turian asked, looking down at the asari pinned under my knee.

"No sir!" She yelled, going for panicked, "These three jumped us. I think they want to rob us. You know how quarians are!"

"True..." He muttered, watching us. "You two, get off of them!"

"What?!" I demanded, "Are you fucking kidding me?! They tried to rape her!"

"And where's the evidence of that, human?" The turian C-Sec officer growled, clearly not enjoying my cursing or my tone. The emphasis on 'human' was what convinced me that this was going to be a serious problem.

"What the hell is happening here?" A voice demanded. Another C-Sec officer came around the corner. This one was human, with short blond hair and mean-looking blue eyes. He looked around and I could see the frown forming on his face.

"It's a robbery attempt, Lieutenant Bailey." The lead turian reported, "The two suit rats and the...other guy were trying to rob these two. We arrived when we heard the gunfire."

"Or," I answered, "As I explained before, these two were trying to rape and abduct Risha."

Lieutenant Bailey looked at us for a moment, then at the two we had pinned down.

"I don't suppose in your rush to 'find the truth' of this situation," Bailey started, scornfully, "You noticed the rather peculiar armor those two are wearing?"

I looked down at the asari. She was wearing silver and blue armor. Actually, they were both wearing silver and blue armor, which meant nothing to me. Apparently, it meant something to the three C-Sec officers, because I saw relaization dawn upon them, followed by what was clearly embarrassment.

"Yeah." Lieutenant Bailey answered. "Blue Suns. Famous for kidnapping and human trafficking."

He looked at the three of us as the turians moved in and started cuffing the two Blue Suns, avoiding eye contact with our group.

"Are you all alright?" Lieutenant Bailey asked.

"Thanks for coming when you did, Lieutenant." I told him, "Sergeant Henry Gerrard, STT Zeta."

"Holy shit." He muttered, "That's some pretty serious special forces, huh?"

I just shrugged.

"Well," He said, holding a hand out, "I'm sorry you had to deal with these three."

He directed a withering gaze at the turians, then looked back at me.

"Hopefully, you can get back to whatever it was you were doing."

The C-Sec officers led the two Blue Suns away.

"Alright, let's get you up." Zent said, pulling up on Risha. I helped him get her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said, though she didn't exactly sound fine, "Thanks for coming when you did."

"Thank Henry, here." He said, glancing at me. "He's the one who saw you get taken."

"Then thank you, Sergeant."

"Let's just get back to the group, shall we?"

We walked out from the alleyway just in time to see the two criminals being loaded into a police vehicle. Lena'Zuril was approaching with the rest of the group.

"What happened?" She asked.

Zent explained everything and Lena'Zuril just shook her head.

"Racism is truly a trait to be admired from Citadel's police." She griped bitterly. She looked at the two of us as Risha went back to the group. "Thank you both for bringing her back. Can't believe this is happening on our first trip."

"I'm almost not surprised." I answered. I looked at all of the quarian. Their body language suggested that they were seriously nervous, right now.

"We should get back to the ship." Zent said, "There are already supplies being stocked, we don't particularly need to be here."

"I think that's for the best." Lena'Zuril replied. Then she looked at me. "You have anywhere you want to go? Anyone to visit?"

"No." Was my answer. There was a moment of silence between Zent and Lena'Zuril.

"Okay, then." She said, "Back to the ship it is."


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as we went back to the ship, I went back to the armory. I assumed I'd get a call as soon as I was needed. Lena'Zuril and Zent had gone to engineering, to get their team all settled in.

I pulled a chestplate up from the floor. I'd noticed this piece of equipment earlier. The shields on this armor were very strong, though Errahe pumping a hundred rounds into it had overcome those shields. Each suit of armor typically had a standard manufactured shield generator, but this one was custom built. If I could figure out how to reverse engineer the thing, I could build the entire team some stronger shields.

The armor and arms we had now were above standard issue, but they dstill weren't the absolute best. I heard the elevator door open and turned around to find Roluck walking out. His black and red face looked somewhat concerned, an odd look for him. I also noted that he had a green bag with him.

"Henry," He said, "I heard about what happened at the marketplace."

"Yeah." I answered, prying open the first layer of the chestpiece, "It was pretty horrendous. The worst part, by far, were the guards."

"I apologize for the turian race on that one, Henry." He replied sincerely, if somewhat hesitantly, "Council Species tend to have the hardest time remembering that they were once only Citadel Species. Maybe it's because I never fought in the First Contact War."

"Too young for it?" I asked. I managed to pull away the small layer of sheet metal over the shield generator.

"I wasn't even born, yet." He confirmed, leaning up against the Mako. He put the bag down and started checking over his rifle. "I'm only twenty-seven. You already know my history. It was all slaver and pirates, then nothing and now, Zeta."

"Ah." I answered noncommittally, pulling the generator out before throwing the armor into a pile of brokend down weapons and armor. Then I nodded towards the bag. "What'd you get?"

"Funny you should ask about that." He replied with a grin. "I figure that compared to the rest of the team, I wasn't really being fair to you. The demeaning on Eden Prime and the doubt on Intal'sei. You've more than proven yourself."

He gripped something in the bag and pulled it out, revealing it to be a bottle. This wasn't the cylinders containers that we were all used to seeing in an inter-species bar, this was of human design. Old, too, unless I much missed my mark. He'd bought some good shit. Scotch, from the look of it.

"I asked your Colonel what humans drank and he pointed me to a shop on the Citadel."

"I appreciate the thought." I told him, "You don't need to prove anything"

"Then I'll just keep th-" He started, but I reached out and tugged the bottle away.

"A gift is a gift." I informed him.

He chuckled, then added: "Found out something interesting while I was on the Citadel."

"Oh yeah?" I asked.

"Somebody apparently saw your achievements and decided to raise the stakes." He said, "There's a human Spectre, now."

I was surprised and a little bit joyous of the news, at least on an impersonal level.. My involvement on this team and the presence of a human Spectre indicated that the Council was at least entertaining the thought of accepting humans onto the Council.

"Who was it?" I asked.

"Commander Shepard." The turian replied. "Do you know that Marine?"

No big surprise. Shepard was a war hero due to the Skyllian Blitz. I'd learned about Commander Shepard during my time in boot camp.

"Yeah." I answered. "Shepard's a badass, from on back to a clash with Batarians called the Skyllian Blitz."

"It is nice to see that the Spectres have some new meat." He said, his mandibles twitching sightly, "Haven't been another one of those in-"

The door opened again and we both looked back to see Lena'Zuril. She looked between us.

"Am I interrupting?" She asked.

"Just filling him in on what we learned in our latest visit." Roluck told her. "Not the mission, just...events."

"I just wanted to thank you again." Lena'Zuril explained, walking over and joining Roluck against the Mako. She folded her arms up again, her posture highly defensive. "Risha got examined by Elura. She's doing fine, right now. She's still a little bit anxious after that, but she'll be alright."

"I imagine any of you would've done the same for us, Lena'Zuril."

"Just Lena." She answered, "I'm not a big follower of the formal names."

"Well, don't worry about it." I told her, "I'm just glad Risha is alright."

The door opened again and we were now joined by Errahe.

"Come to congratulate me on the defeat of a pair of Blue Suns?" I asked

"Hardly." Errahe said. "Merely wanted to express surprise that Blue Suns went after quarian and not you."

"Because I'm human?" I asked.

"No." Errahe responded, "More feminine than the quarian."

There was a moment of silence as I processed that one.

_Did he just make a joke?_

I laughed, as did Lena. Roluck merely chuckled.

"Still, good that you gave them kick in the ass." Errahe told me, "They desperately needed it."

"It's too bad Zent won't be sticking around." Lena sighed.

"What?" I asked, "Where's he going?"

"Our next mission is taking us to Omega." Roluck explained. "There's apparently a small group of quarian who are heading back to the Fleet from there and Zent's going with them."

"That is too bad." I agreed. I kind of liked the guy. He was a bit rigid, but he had immediately gone to action the moment he suspected one of his people were in danger. That was a good man.

"Speaking of which..." Roluck trailed off, checking his omni-tool. "Yeah, we have to be up in the briefing room in a few minutes. Might as well start packing it in now."

Everybody got up and started to leave as I organized my mess and tugged my overshirt off the cannon of the Mako. I turned around to find that Lena had remained. When my gaze met her...mask, she spoke.

"I don't think you realized how important the decision you made was." She said, "There are very few people out there who would've stepped in for a quarian."

"According to Elura," I said, pulling some parts I pried out off the tale and gently placing them in a small storage locker next to the bench, "I'm too ignorant for racism. I didn't see a quarian getting assaulted, I saw a terrified young woman getting assaulted. Besides, you might want to thank that C-Sec Lieutenant."

"Zent already sent that officer's superiors a commendation." Lena acknowledged. "Zent may be a bit of a hardass, but he knows when respect is due. Trust me, it was no small thing you did."

I just shrugged towards the elevator, wanting to get moving up to the briefing room. She nodded silently and followed me to the door, where we waited for a moment before the elevator door opened. We stepped into it and started upwards.

"So Omega." I muttered quietly, feeling like I had to keep my voice down in the elevator. "I've heard about the place. Isn't it supposed to be a free-for-all?"

"I don't know what that means." Lena answered, glancing at me, "But it is a lawless place, with only an asari named Aria T'Loak in charge. She apparently enforces a bit of order, but even then only what applies to her."

"Sounds like just the kind of place we shouldn't be docked at." I admitted.

"True enough." She agreed, "But this ship seems to have some pretty hardy security systems. Plus, my engineers all know how to shoot a gun accurately enough and calmly enough to repel and invasion."

The doors opened and we made our way to the briefing room, where everybody was already seated. Zent wasn't here, probably because he didn't really need to be. Lena and I sat ourselves down and looked up at Elura, ready to listen.

"So you've all been informed that we're headed to Omega, correct?" She asked. Everybody nodded.

"And we're all up to speed on how Omega works?" Nods again.

"Even you, Henry?"

"Lena gave me an overview of Omega on the way up here."

"Well then, here's our mission."

A huge structure lit up in the center, glowing red and somewhat conical shaped. It was surrounded by large asteroids that were ponderously drifting around. I wonder if it had some sort of kinetic barrier keeping them away.

"This, as you can see, is Omega. This-" A portion of Omega, near the center, glowed blue. "Is the territory of the Blood Pack. For those who don't know, the Blood Pack is a mercenary group consisting mostly of vorcha and krogan. There have been rumors of their involvement with the geth, so the council has sent us to investigate. We will tear the area up from top to bottom. Any questions?"

"Yes." Errahe answered, "Will Aria be problematic?"

"Aria has agreed to let the Council, on this one rare instance, investigate." Elura answered, "I can only assume that we're doing her some sort of unintentional favor by invading Blood Pack territory."

"That'll make things much easier." Roluck conceded, "But what are we actually looking for? Evidence or a way to shut them down?"

"Evidence is all we need." Elura answered. "I'm figuring, since there are so many of us, we split up into two teams. Roluck, Errahe and I will stay on the outside of their territory, causing enough damage to pull their attention away, but keep moving, so as to not find ourselves trapped. We keep this up so Henry and Lena will be able to infiltrate, hopefully unimpeded."

"I'm good in long range situations." I told her, "But this is an area with lots of twists and turns. I don't know what use I'll be in here."

"You have a pistol, take it for close range." She instructed. "You shouldn't see much, if any, resistance. The main hub, if you will, is here."

She indicated a spot on the giant overlay. I squinted and saw what looked like a room with two ways in on opposite sides of the room. They were both long hallways with plenty of visibility, from what I could tell.

"Lena should be able to lock down a door at this position." Elure said, "The system is created by a bunch of krogan and vorcha, so it shouldn't be an issue for you to hack into. From there, I want you to find anything related to the geth and download it. Once you've done a thorough search and have found everything you can, let me know. We'll regroup in Aria's club, Afterlife, then head directly for the ship. No stopping to see the sights."

"Understood." I answered. I looked at Lena and she nodded. She was alright with the plan, to my relief. You never walked into combat without making sure everyone knew what had to be done. "Any special way to handle krogan?"

"Shoot at em a lot." Roluck answered, chortling, "That usually gets the job done."

Elura gave him a look of warning and Roluck put his hands up and in front of him in mock surrender.

"Seriously, though." He continued, "Don't get too close to them. They excel at close combat, but your sniper rifle should be perfectly suited to take them out. Especially if they are channeled down a hallway, like this one."

"We'll be hitting Omega in an hour." Elura announced. "Everyone get ready. Henry, please stay here for a moment."

Everyone filed out, Roluck giving Elura a strange look before he walked out the door.

"Yes?" I asked, looking up at her.

"How're you feeling?" She asked, looking highly concerned, "I heard that biotic slammed you around pretty good."

"I'm fine." I told her, "I'm more than able to take on this mission, if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm just making sure." She said. "Not many would've jumped into a fistfight with a couple of hardened criminals to save a single quarian."

"Yeah," I replied, "Lena said that, too. I don't get it. What's the big deal?"

"Ah, I forgot how little you actually know about the galaxy." Elura started explaining, a patient smile on her face, "The quarian are responsible for the geth. As in, they literally created the geth three hundred years ago, who got smart and forced them off Rannoch."

I was surprised. I'd known that the geth had forced the quarians away, but I'd never known that they actually created the geth in the first place.

"Wow." I muttered.

"Furthermore," Elura said, "They have an unfortunately well-earned reputation for being scavengers and sometimes thieves. Which is why you probably faced such adversity with those C-Sec officers. That asari you fought fed them the perfect lie."

_So the quarians had created the same enemy we were fighting against right now?_

I sat back in my chair and thought through the ramifications of that. A question immediately surfaced.

"Is that why they are helping us and providing us a crew?"

Elura looked surprised by the perceptive question, but didn't comment on it. Instead, the surprised look turned thoughtful as she gazed off out of the window and at the stars.

"I imagine that might have something to do with it." She said, "You have to understand, the Migrant Fleet is comprised of fifty thousand vessels containing seventeen million people. To secure trading rights with the Citadel is a big advantage for them, since they are perpetually short of supplies. They're probably feeling a little guilty, though, that their own creations have murdered an entire colony. Even though they stay away from the rest of the galaxy, that kind of guilt can't be avoided."

She looked at me, seeming to consider something.

"It might be why Lena and the crew are so overly social with you." She said.

"They don't seem anymore social than a normal person." I countered, not sure where she was going with this.

"Which is far more social than they usually are with any species besides themselves." She continued, smiling, "Most species treat the quarians as second class citizens and as a result, the quarians don't tend to interact with them much. Trust from anybody is rare for them."

"So why am I so special?" I asked, surprised by how much I was learning from this conversation.

"Because not only do you trust them," she started, grinning, "You trust them after their own creations wiped out your entire company on Eden Prime. I don't think the impact of that has slipped by them."

I leaned back in the chair, no longer looking at Elura. I thought about it, long and hard. The implications of this discussion hit me all at once. The same species who were operating the Peacemaker had created the same enemy we were after.

"I guess the impact of that slipped past you, though." Elura answered, looking a little apprehensive. "Awkward."

They'd created the same enemy that had killed nearly all of my unit on Eden Prime.

"How long..."I started, then stopped. I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to the question, but kept going. "How long do quarians live?"

"Their lifespans are comparable to that of a human or a turian." She answered.

Well then...

"I can hardly hold this crew to blame for the mistake their ancestors made generations before them." I finally said, feeling certain of the words I was speaking. I wouldn't want to be judged for something my family did centuries ago.

Elura's grin widened.

"A very moral and well-founded view." She agreed, nodding as her smile fell away, "But some species live beyond a hundred years. There are a handful of Matriarchs and krogan who surpass a thousand years. It's hard to bury old grudges when those in charge are still around to remember them."

I thought about that long and hard. Finally, I came up with an answer.

"I'm just a grunt." I answered, "That all just sounds like some political bullshit to me."

The grin came back and Elura's eyes twinkled as she said.

"That it is. Now, start getting ready for this mission. If something goes bad, it's going to be a rough one."


	8. Chapter 8

The first thought I'd had about Omega was that this place was so incredibly dark.

It wasn't just the poor lighting or the general dirtiness of this station. Everyone was all crowded in. The hallways were cramped and there was just an overall shady feel to the station. When we'd docked, I'd been sure I'd be getting mugged the moment I strayed away from the group.

Still, Elura had shown me Purgatory. It was a rather gaudy club with music that gave me a headache from being around it for too long. There had been a line outside, blocked by an elcor who looked surprisingly intimidating. Following that, we'd said our goodbyes to Zent as he left for his docking bay. He assured us he'd be in contact.

So we'd moved from there into our current position, which was Lena and I staring down a pair of krogan hanging out in a wide-open housing complex. Behind them was a door that led into their compound. From there on, we'd be about five minutes away from their operations center, assuming that we didn't run into any resistance. I figured, though, that we wouldn't. The Blood Pack were a serious mercenary group, but they were on their home turf. Nobody expected a well-coordinated and calculated attack in their own home by five people.

We'd waited for the change in shifts and while the guards were occupied, snuck in one of the abandoned rooms. There had been just enough space through the open door that I could set up my sniper rifle in the back corner and still get a clear shot at the guards. Lena and I had worked out a plan to snare both of them up long enough for me to get clear shots at them.

"We're starting our distraction." Elura informed me over the earpiece.

"Acknowledged." I replied. I gave Lena a significant look. She cocked her head at me, puzzled. I sighed in frustration. Lena had no experience with humans on a personal basis, so she was completely unable to figure out body language and facial expressions.

"They're about to attack." I told her. "We'll give it a minute and make sure the attack is having an effect, then we'll attack."

Sure enough, both krogan put their hands up to their ears with their heads slightly cocked to the side, as if listening to something. They uniformly lowered their hands at gave each other a look before pulling out their weapons.

_Looks like they just got a call about us._ I mused.

I looked at Lena. She was surprisingly relaxed, for somebody about to get into a pretty serious fight. She caught my gaze for a moment, then shrugged, clearly not sure why I was looking at her. I looked back to the krogan.

We waited a couple minutes in silence as the krogan shifted around uncomfortably. I finally decided that we'd waited long enough and positioned the sniper rifle into my shoulder correctly. I aimed in, focused my breathing, then said:

"Do it."

I heard a soft beep next to me as she pressed a button on her omni-tool. Suddenly, a large orange ball was hovering in between the two krogan.

"What the hell?" One of them said, as they both turned to look at it.

There was a quiet but powerful concussive blast as the drone detonated, momentarily stunning both of the krogan. Lena had mentioned they had a redundant nervous system that made them impossible to stun for anymore than a couple seconds. So I had to make those seconds count. I fired at the krogan on the left, first. The powerful sniper rifle tore right through his shields without a pause and slammed into his face. His head snapped to the side and he crashed to the floor.

The second krogan started to turn, shotgun coming up towards the doorway, but I merely shifted position a little. I didn't have time to line up a headshot, so I fired two rounds in quick succession. The first penetrated his armor at the shoulder, halting his draw. The second slammed into his throat, causing orange blood to spray all over the place. He dropped to his knees, still alive. I had to reload.

"Finish him." I ordered Lena as I ejected the spent thermal clip.

She raised her pistol, an M-6 Carnifex. She fired three loud rounds into the krogan and he stopped moving.

"We're clear." She notified me.

"Thanks," I drawled, pushing a new thermal clip into the clip port. "Because I wouldn't have known otherwise."

"Bosh'tet." She muttered, shaking head as she stood. I pocketed the spent thermal clip. No point in throwing away perfectly salvageable clips.

We moved to the door and I took position on the ground in front of it.

"Ready." I told Lena. Her omni-tool lit up and she started pressing a bunch of buttons on it, her three fingers moving amazingly fast. She may not have been a technical expert, but she'd apparently picked up more than enough to be useful.

The metallic door slid open quietly and the hallway behind it was clear. I wasn't surprised to see that, just like the rest of this station, the Blood Pack preferred their hallways cramped and lit in a dark red hue. I raised up to a crouch, putting the Black Widow away and drawing the Phalanx. This little pistol, like the Carnifex, packed a lot of power in each round. It also had a greater ammo capacity than the Carnifex, but was a little more inaccurate.

"Let's go." I ordered quietly, moving forward with purposeful steps.

"Got it." She replied.

There was no resistance to speak of on the way to the command center, though my nerves were on edge the whole time. I was surprised to find the room was so small. It was odd, considering that this was their command center for all operations on and around Omega. There was a table with a few chairs to our right and computers with consoles on our left. Across from us was a doorway. This room, like all the others, was positively bathing in crimson light.

I looked around for something useful and found a table made of what looked to be pretty thick metal.

"Lena." I called out. She turned to me. "Shoot the table."

"Wh-" She started.

"Just shoot the table."

She shrugged, aimed her pistol at the table and fired with a loud bang that reverberated through the small room. The round ricocheted right off of the table and into the wall.

"Good." I said, "Get started on the hacking, then. I figure it'd be best to go back the way we came, so close the door over there."

"Will do."

The door opposite the one we came through shut as Lena typed on the console.

"This is Henry." I announced into my earpiece, flipping the table onto its side. "We have taken the command center and are starting our upload."

"Understood." Elura's voice returned to me. I could hear a lot of gunfire in the background. "We're hitting them and moving, to keep them from flanking us. We've got Blue Suns territory behind us and they won't move in there and start a war over the three of us. You've got ten minutes."

"Copy that." I answered. I looked at Lena. "You get all that?"

"Yes." She answered, not looking up from the keyboard as screens flashed around her. "I should be able to find enough data, if it's there."

"Don't worry." I assured her, dragging the table to the door and using it to block off the lower portion of the door. I took a knee behind the table and rested the middle of the barrel on the table. I estimated the hall to be about fifty feet long. More than long enough to be able to use this weapon effectively. Still, I set my pistol down next to me, in case the Black Widow didn't get the job done. "I'll give you the time you need."

No sooner had the words escaped my mouth than a loud alarm started wailing throughout the base.

"Dammit." Lena panicked, "It's coming from this station. They'll know we're here."

"Can you shut it off?" I wondered, anxiously checking the hallway to make sure it was clear.

"This code is way too advanced for me." She answered, "And I'm used to dealing with geth codes."

"These people have more advanced systems than the geth?!" I shouted in disbelief.

"There's no way." She replied, shaking her head. "Someone gave this system to them."

"Can you still download the information?" I asked.

"I'll see what I can do." She hedged.

"What are those alarms?" Elura demanded over the earpiece.

"Some sort of alert." I replied. A vorcha came around the corner, pistol out. I put a round through his chest, sending him to the ground. "Lena's telling me it's more advanced than geth systems."

"Who has that sort of technology?" Elura wondered, "The Blood Pack sure shouldn't."

"I don't know." I told her, "But I do know that we're about to get swarmed over here."

A pair of krogan came around the corner as well, assault rifles out. I fired a round that tore through the skull of the first one and sent him crashing through the ground. The second krogan fired. The table deflected some of the rounds as I took aim, though a single round skipped off of the shields on my shoulder. I took a calming breath and fired again. This round puntured his throat and he fell to his knees, gurgling. Orange blood was flowing from between his fingers. I pulled the Phalanx up and unleashed a trio of rounds into the krogans skull. He stopped moving, sinking the rest of the way to the ground.

"Shit." I grunted as I reloaded the Black Widow at a panicked speed.

"We'll do what we can to keep them occupied." Elura said, "The back ranks are peeling off and back into the base, though."

"It's about to get pretty heated over here, Lena." I informed her.

"Not as heated as it's about to get if you don't stop reminding me!" She snapped.

"Damn." I muttered to myself, looking back to the hallway. So far, it was clear.

There was a good five minutes of tense silence and distant gunfire before our next enemy approached. What emerged around the corner next nearly froze me in spot.

There were three vorcha headed this way, with one in between the three of them who was carrying what looked all too much like a flamethrower. The other three vorcha were armed with pistols that were being fired my way, but they weren't exactly accurate. Still, The easiest way to get them all would be to detonate the flamethrower. I sighted in as well as I could through my panic as the group stalked my way. I saw a small metal tube sticking out over his shoulder that undoubtedly held the gas used in the chemical reaction. I squeezed the trigger and the first shot went high.

I cursed and fired again. This shot slammed into the tube and with a concussive blast that nearly flattened me, the flamethrower exploded. I was knocked back onto my ass and glanced up to see the hallway covered in blood but cleared of enemies.

"Ha!" I yelled, getting back up. Lena had stopped and glanced over. "Keep going, we're good."

"Are you alright?" I heard Elura ask over the earpiece.

"We're holding." I informed her, "But it's getting rough over here."

"What's the update on the information?" she asked.

"Hey Lena!" I yelled, "Elura wants to kn-"

I looked at the hallway just in time to see another krogan filling the hallway. As well as something small flying through the air at me. I identified it as a frag grenade and managed to slap it down onto the the other side of the table. When it landed, I realized shrapnel would still be able to hit Lena from where it was at.

It was a simple decision. We depended on her for this mission's success. I was merely a trigger-puller. My armor was thick enough that it might absorb the shrapnel.

_And you can't let her get hurt._ My mind irrationally reasoned.

"Look out!" I yelled uselessly, using my legs to push myself up and slammed into Lena's back. Just as I did so, the frag grenade exploded. The concussion of the blast was enough to weaken my shields and I felt sharp pains all along my shoulder.

I cried out in pain, but still dashed over to my pistol as Lena recovered. I fired at the krogan's legs, the shots accurate enough that he stumbled and fell due to the holes in his knees. I finished him off with the rest of the clip.

"God dammit." I moaned, reaching back and touching my shoulder. I found blood there, a good bit of it. "That hurt."

"Are you alright?" Lena asked, not even glancing up from the console. She sounded worried enough, though.

"Not really." I told her, "We need to finish this fast, because I'm not sure if I can shoot very well anymore."

"I've found enough." She answered. "I'm just getting it transferred to my omni-tool and destroying security footage, now."

"Elura." I spoke over the comlink, "We've secured some data. I've been wounded, but I'll be able to work around it."

"Good." Elura answered, "We'll start pulling back on your word."

"Noted." I agreed and heard gunfire in the hallway. I glanced down the hallway to see a krogan standing there that was a bit unlike the others. The plate on the top of his head was black, as was the armor he wore. He had a large hump on his shoulders, larger than any of the krogan I'd seen so far. His mean orange eyes stared me down. His tough, yellow skin seemed nearly orange in this lighting. He was easily over seven feet tall.

In one hand, he was holding a shotgun. In the other, he held a vorcha at the neck whose head had been blown away.

_Not one to be trifled with, I see._

"You Zeta?" He asked, his voice a low growl.

"Yeah!" I called back cautiously, pistol still in hand.

"Good." He answered, Then he looked around his feet at the bodies. "You've made quite the mess...for a cowardly sniper."

The last bit was delivered sarcastically, leading me to believe he wasn't intentionally being insulting.

"I'm Urdnot Krieg." He introduced, "A...friend of Aria's."

"Are we clear to talk?" I reminded him.

"Your friends are keeping the Blood Pack occupied." He replied. "Anyways, I'm here as a gift of sorts from Aria. She thinks your team could use another hand."

"One moment." I answered.

"Don't worry about me." He grunted, "I'll just stand here in this exposed hallway."

"I'm done." Lena announced, looking up from the console.

I waved him towards us as I spoke into the comlink.

"Elura," I said, "We're done here, but I have a krogan by the name of Urdnot Krieg. He's wanting to join with us."

"He wants to join?" She asked, seeming incredulous.

"Well, he's one of Aria's mercs, I imagine." I moved my shoulder a bit and felt pain flare up from it. I gritted my teeth and kept talking. "She sent him as a token of thanks."

There was a pause.

"Take him with you." She ordered, "There's too much heat here, go directly to the Peacemaker."

"Acknowledged." I replied.

"A quarian, hm?" Krieg noted, "What's she doing here?"

"She just got us our information." I answered. "We need to move, now."

"Looks like you've taken a hit." He observed as we strode towards the door.

"Shrapnel, I imagine." I replied. "It would've hit Lena, otherwise. I'm a little more meaty, I can take it."

I looked over at Lena, but she was focused on making sure each and every hallway was clear before we moved on. I heard commotion further behind us and realized that the command center had been taken. Apparently, we'd slipped right through a gap in their forces.

"Can you still fight?" He wondered.

"I won't be going toe to toe with a thresher maw anytime soon." I informed him, "But I can still shoot something in the face."

"Ha!" He laughed, "You've got a quad on you, for a gutless little pyjack."

I let the comment pass without snipping back as we exited the doors we'd originally came in through. The two krogan were still lying on the ground, with orange blood pooling around them.

"What's your kill count after this mission?" The big krogan idly wondered as we put away our weapons and melded into the marketplace crowd. I imagined the blood was difficult to discern on my armor, so I would be able to make it through here without drawing attention.

"Let's see..." I muttered. I did some quick math. "About thirty, I think."

He glanced over at me, clearly surprised.

"Thirty?" he repeated, his voice indicating a level of mild shock.

"More than half of that comes from Eden Prime." Lena answered as we swept in towards the docking bay. "He was with the unit that got destroyed there."

"I heard about that." The big krogan said, "A bit of nasty business, there. You're a survivor of that?"

"Yeah." I muttered, more than a little embarrassed.

_I hate it when people ask me about Eden Prime._

"Hm." He answered, "I may have underestimated you. Rare, in my line of work."

We arrived at the docking bay, a long hallway with glass on one side that showed us the dark bay that the Peacemaker was docked in. At the entrance, I noticed that the rest of the team (Except Errahe) was there, trying their best to act casual. I saw pistols in hands, though they were being pretty subtle about it.

"Henry." Roluck said when he spotted us. "You alright?"

"Shrapnel." I answered, shoulder throbbing as I walked fast, "It'll be fine, just needs to be taken out. Where's Errahe?"

"He's got the ship ready to fly." Elura answered, pushing off the wall, "Urdnot Krieg, if you wouldn't mind waiting in the quarters for a moment, we need to get him to the medbay."

"Fine." He grunted, stomping off towards the entrance.


	9. Chapter 9

"Stop whining." Elura playfully snapped from behind my back as she pulled yet another shard of metal from my shoulder. When we'd first gotten here and taken off the armor and shirt, she'd counted no less than seven pieces of shrapnel (of varying sizes) stuck in my shoulder. Nothing critical had been hit, it was mostly just dug into muscle. Which meant it was painful to pull out.

"You get pieces of a frag grenade stuck in your shoulder and you can talk." I groaned. The door to the med-bay opened, allowing Roluck and Lena to enter.

"You'll have a nice set of scars to impress the krogan women with." Roluck remarked offhand.

"Lucky me." I drawled, then gasped when Elura yanked another piece out of my shoulder.

"That was the last one." She informed me.

"I know." I told her, trying my best to look angry at her constant upbeat attitude. "I've been counting."

"I've got to head on down and speak with Krieg." Elura told us all. "Roluck, you know how to apply a dressing. Get a bandage on him and then we'll head up to the briefing room and see what we got from the Blood Pack systems."

She walked out and Roluck took her place at my back. He started unwrapping a bandage and in the meantime, Lena just looked on. I couldn't tell what she was thinking behind the mask.

"That would've killed me." She finally said. Her voice was flat and nearly emotionless. "The suit tears would've been bad enough, but the shrapnel would've infected and probably killed me."

"Don't worry about it." I assured her, "I knew my armor would keep me safe."

"Relatively." Roluck added. I sucked in a breath when he sprayed some sort of disinfectant on the wound. The he got to work applying the bandage.

"Sorry I snapped at you in there." She finally said.

"It's fine, Lena." I told her, "You don't have to apologize for or feel bad about anything. You were doing exactly what you were supposed to be doing. It was just bad luck."

"And nobody has asked me: 'Hey Roluck, how's that light burn you got on your palm while reloading an overheated thermal clip?' yet." Roluck joked.

I chuckled, but immediately forced the laughter down when the movement started antagonizing my shoulder.

"Zeta team," Elura spoke over the intercom, "Please assemble in the briefing room."

"Time to get up." I muttered, pulling my shirt back on. Roluck and Lena left the room as I buttoned up my shirt. Once that was done, I removed what was left of the armor on my legs and left the med-bay.

I had to wait for the elevator, but when it came up I found myself in the elevator with a couple of the quarian engineers. They seemed to be talking through communicators, because they were talking so quietly that I couldn't hear what they were saying. They kept looking back at me, though. It was making me uncomfortable, but I wasn't too sure I wanted to confront them about it. Beofre I coudl decide whether to say anything, the doors opened up to the command center. I followed them out and turned left.

I entered the briefing room and found I was the last one to show up. Krieg was here, as well. He gave me a vaguely appraising look as I took my seat. Everyone looked up at Elura, who was waiting patiently.

"So here is what we were able to get." Elura said, tapping away on her omni-tool. A lot of data started pouring through on the projector in the middle. "The Blood Pack were, indeed, in with the geth. That security system you activated was unlike anything that the geth use. Or Spectres. Or anybody."

"It was incredibly advanced." Lena agreed, "But it wasn't protecting any information, it merely made sure I couldn't circumvent the alarm."

"We have shipping manifests and even surveillance of the Blood Pack monitoring Aria T'Loak." Elura said, "It seems as though the Blood Pack would be attempting a hostile takeover."

"You should get this data to Aria." Krieg interrupted, his gravelly voice reverberating through the small room, "She'll be able to take care of them."

"Already done." Elura answered, smiling. "The disturbing part of all this, though, is the video footage we managed to obtain."

A video popped up in the center of the table. I could see a big krogan and a geth there. This looked as though it'd been recorded in the same room Lena and I had held down.

"-credits better come through, geth." The krogan told the geth.

"More than sufficient credits for this transaction." The geth assured him.

Everybody in the room froze as Elura paused it. Even Krieg looked taken aback.

"Wasn't aware of geth speech." Errahe said, looking entirely put-off.

"They can." Lena announced quietly, "But there would have to be a lot of programs on one platform for that."

"What do you mean, quarian?" Krieg asked.

"Lena." She corrected him. The krogan took it in stride, more interested in the answer to his question. "The geth are programs. They've built a physical outer shell, or platform, for combat and to physically get around. They also work something like a hive-mind. The more geth programs in one platform, the smarter it is."

"How many programs would be active in this one?" Roluck asked

"Maybe a thousand." Lena answered. I couldn't help but let out a low whistle.

"Well, the recording's not finished yet." Elura said.

"And when the time comes," the geth told the krogan, "The mercenaries on Omega will fight the Old Machines."

"Sure." The krogan answered.

"Liar." Krieg muttered as the video recording ended.

"Old Machines." Elura repeated, "The way the geth spoke of them, they are clearly powerful. Got anything for us, Lena?"

Lena head was down, indicating that she was deep in thought and didn't even hear Elura address her.

"Lena." Elura said, louder this time. Lena looked up at her.

"Sorry..." She said, "I've seen the 'Old Machines' referenced by the geth before. The speak of them with both terror-or as close as geth get to it- and awe."

"So gods?" I asked, finally throwing my two cents in.

"Maybe." She said, "But this geth came to Omega and tried to bring it under his control. He wants to use them to fight the Old Machines. Hm..."

"What's wrong, Lena?"

"Well," She said, "The amount of geth you're seeing in this conflict is minimal. Hardly a full representation of the entire geth armada. I'd pose that we're looking at an offshoot of the main geth concensus or something."

"And the Old Machines?" Elura asked.

"Call the geth whatever you want." Lena said, "But they're not stupid. If they think these 'Old Machines' are coming, then they are probably coming. What I can't figure out is that encryption."

"These 'Old Machines', maybe?"

That's when I remembered something. It'd been shoved into the back of my memories of Eden Prime, just one horror to add to an entire list of them.

"There was a ship on Eden Prime." I started, drawing everyone's attention, "I'd never seen anything like it. It...didn't look congruent with anything the geth would make. I mean, I know they're very advanced, but the design was totally different and its shields were pretty much impenetrable. It operated on eezo, that much I could tell, but that was all for similarities to our ships."

"A ship of these 'Old Machines', then?" Roluck asked. "A small possibility, but it makes sense."

"Another issue to bring up." Lena said. Everyone returned their attention to her. "From Admiralty reports and from a Spectre's reports on a group in Therum, the geth under Saren probably only number into the hundreds. Maybe a thousand."

"So what's the issue?" Elura asked.

"The issue-" Roluck said, catching on, "is that the geth in that video was housing maybe a thousand programs."

"Sure, steal my thunder." Lena grumbled.

"If Saren was using this geth as an agent, which already makes no sense seeing as he can just do all the negotiating himself, that means he'd have disabled most of his army just for this purpose-"

"Bosh'tet." Lena added.

"So it follows-" Roluck continued, the turian version of a smug grin on his face as he watched Lena, "that we're looking at a representative of the core geth."

"So the geth are fighting with Saren and his geth?" Krieg asked.

"Doubtful." Lena answered, "They wouldn't kill off their own. More than likely, they're trying to secure a way to fight these Old Machines."

"So what now?" I wondered.

"For now," Elura said, "General Toulius and I will present this information to the Council. So it looks like another stop to the Citadel. Everyone get down to their stations, we'll be docked in an hour."

We all left the room and I headed back down to the armory. I had decided to start working on something that would make my Black Widow look a little obsolete. I'd need something from the Citadel, first. A couple of base model sniper rifles to give my new project a frame. I also needed to replace the shoulder armor on my Predator armor. Hopefully I could find a base matching color. Not that I was overly concerned with the color of my armor, I just didn't want to be out on the field looking like ass.

My omni-tool started glowing and made an alarm noise to inform me that somebody was calling. I looked down to see my father calling. I answered the call.

"Henry, I hear you're headed to the Citadel."

How the hell did he hear about these things so fast? Must've been one of the benefits of being a Rear Admiral. I felt my shoulder starting to get sore again. The painkillers were probably wearing off.

"Yes, we are." I answered, rotating my arm and trying to get the pain to go away.

"I'd like to meet up there." He said, "Heard you took a couple of scrapes on your last mission and I want to make sure you're alright. I also might have an addition to your ship, if your asari team leader will accept her."

"Her?" I wondered.

"A pilot." He answered. "One of the best frigate pilots in the damn fleet."

"This is a turian ship, dad." I answered.

"I think she took one joyriding once." my father answered, "I'm sure she'll be able to adapt."

"Joyriding?" I repeated.

"I've already sent the dossier to General Toulius and he's looking it over, now." Dad said, avoiding the question entirely. I heard a tone from the elevator and turned to see someone stopping at my floor. "Let's all get together on the Citadel."

"Alright." I told him as the elevator doors opened, revealing Krieg. The big krogan locked eyes on me and hefted his shotgun as he walked towards me. I couldn't tell exactly what he wanted. "I'll call you when I get to the CItadel, dad. I gotta go."

"I'll see you soon." He said, before disconnecting. I looked up at Krieg.

"Whaddya need?" I asked.

"I heard you were a weapons specialist." Krieg grunted, slamming his shotgun on my weapons bench. "I'd like you to take a look at this shotgun and tell me if any improvements can be made."

"Alright." I answered. I could use a project.

The weapon was the M-300 Claymore, one of the most powerful shotgun models in the galaxy. The upper reciever was backed right up against the grip. This weapon had only one shot before it had to be reloaded. Which made it great against strong single targets, but not so good against a plethora of enemies.

"I'm assuming," I started, "since you brought this to me, that you have some issues with its performance?"

"I'd like to find somebody who could modify this weapon to fire more than one round before the thermal clip needed to be changed." He answered gruffly. "I'm very good with blowing a salarian's head open with weapons, but not as skilled at modifying them."

I looked down at it, pondering.

"I'm gonna take it apart for a moment." I warned him, "So I can get a better idea of what needs to be done."

"Go for it." He answered dismissively.

"Your father, huh?" He wondered while I broke the weapon down.

"Yeah." I muttered distractedly, looking at the construction of the weapon. I started typing on my omni-tool. "Rear Admiral with the Alliance. Says he's got a pilot for the Peacemaker...forwarded the dossier to Elura and General Toulius."

"I remember my father." Krieg said, "He was a clan leader six hundred years ago. What a short-sighted fool."

"Short-sighted?" I wondered as I continued to plan.

"Well, with the genophage killing us off and all," He said, "My father decided that pitting his clan against the others on Tuchanka was the way things had to go. Just like every other Clan Leader."

"Genophage?" I inquried idly.

"You really don't know, Gerrard?" he asked, sounding a little angrry. I looked up at him and shrugged. "I'll chalk your ignorance up to being a gutless sniper. The genophage is the disease crafted by the salarians and implemented by the turians that's effectively neutered the krogan race."

I stopped my work, looking back up at him.

"What the hell?" Was all I could think to say.

"We got rowdy and started rebelling." Krieg shrugged. "They decided this was the best way. We've got two, maybe three more generations until we're extinct."

"But...you're working with a salarian and a turian right now." I told him, "Doesn't that piss you off?"

"A lot of krogan wouldn't deign to work with either of them." He agreed. "But...the krogan aren't exactly doing much to change anyone's mind about the genophage. We keep killing each other and killing the turians and killing the salarians...as much as I hate it, diplomacy is the only thing that can help us, now."

"Wow." I answered, "Well what's the problem with changing everybody's mind?"

"Have a few dozen stillborn sons and daughters, Gerrard, and tell me you feel like playing nice with the same people who are the reason for it." He growled. "Our people don't have any reason to hope anymore. Killing for credits is simply the easiest way to forget all about what's happening to us."

I forwarded the list to his omnitool. He looked down at it and his eyes widened.

"This is a lot of shit you want me to buy." He grunted.

"The problem is that the shotgun's cooling mechanism is shrunk down to make way for all of the components that make this thing such a powerhouse." I told him, "So my objective is twofold. I need to expand the shotgun outwards a bit to make more room for a cooling mechanism and I also need to modify a bunch of thermal clips to handle the higher loads. I'd say I could squeeze in, at most, five shots per thermal clip. But you'll have to hang onto the thermal clips when you relaod."

"That's fine." He said, "But...this is a lot of shit."

"You wanted my help, you're getting it." I answered, feeling a little cross. I turned my back on him and started putting the weapon back together.

"You do have quite a quad on you." He repeated. "How did you, a mere sniper, managed to bring down the majority of a geth platoon?"

"I didn't use a sniper rifle for most of them." I told him, "I hopped on a turret. I was the only one of us left standing after the fight."

"A survivor, huh?" He asked. "You're a damn sight more impressive than half of these idiots. You and that turian."

"Roluck?" I asked. "He's got a history of not seeing action before this outfit."

"You need to learn a little bit more, Gerrard." He said, "I know of only one reason the turians would keep someone like him back from the fight."

"Politician's son?" I wondered. That's the only reason I could think of in the Alliance. THen again, the turians didn't seem the type to pamper.

"Ask him yourself." Krieg answered, "I don't make a habit of revealing other's personal information."

I handed him the Claymore and he grabbed onto it before turning his back to me and heading towards the elevator.

"I'll get all of this crap, if you think it will help." Krieg informed me as he walked into the elevator. "You're not bad, for a spineless whelp."

I smirked as the elevator doors closed.

_**A lot going on in this chapter. For those who didn't catch it, I mentioned Therum (Liara's quest) as a marker for exactly where along the timeline of Mass Effect this story is taking place. I'll be doing this throughout the whole story. **_

_**I'm trying to keep the balance between action, character development and conversation. I'll also be including a character list from now on, just for reference. Especially since there will be even more characters. But if Mass Effect 2 could throw down twelve squad mates and fifty thousand support characters, I'm sure I could squeeze some in.  
**_

_**STT Zeta:  
Captain Elura Unami - Asari, Commando**_

_**Lieutenant Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_

_**Lieutenant Lena'Zuril Vas Uline - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_

_**Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_

_**Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_

_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Mercenary**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:  
Quarians - Engineer Crew**_


	10. Chapter 10

I was in luck. Errahe's friend with the STG was out of the hospital and he was able to escort the quarians around. With luck, nobody would screw with the quarians just because they were being guarded by a wimpy-looking (but entirely dangerous) salarian. To that end, Krieg had been willing to escort them as well. He had to go to the market, anyways.

The unfortunate part was that Roluck and Lena wanted to tag along to see the new pilot. Elura had commented that she was unorthodox, which was terrible on a squad, but great in a pilot. Her words, not mine. Lena and Roluck had both been incredibly interested in meeting her, after that.

So I had called ahead and let my father know I'd be unwillingly be bringing others. When we walked into the restaurant on the Presidium, he had already been there.

Rear Admiral Franklin Gerrard was an intimidating man, to say the least. He wore his full dress uniform today, a bunch of gold stripes adorning his shoulder boards. He had very short black hair that was starting to grey on the sides. Dark blue eyes ignored the rest of the group and assessed me critically. He was tall and built pretty damn large. I had no idea why he didn't just become an enlisted Marine and beat up turians with his bare hands.

Next to him sat a woman also in uniform. She wore the same uniform as I, but she had Corporal chevrons stenciled on the left breast of her shirt. Straight red hair trawled down to her shoulders, just barely within regs. Green eyes peered out from a well-formed tanned face. She was looking me over as well, a smirk on her face. She looked like she could be in her early twenties.

Dad, despite his usual professionalism, stood up as I approached with my hand out and drew me into a bear hug.

"I've been so worried about you, son." He said, before letting me go. He put his hands on my shoulders and looked me up and down. "You look good."

"I've been doing good." I said, taking a seat at the table, along with Lena and Roluck, "Had a bit of an accident on our last mission, but I got that sorted out."

"What happened?" Dad asked, worry etched into his face.

"I took some shrapnel from a frag grenade." I told him, "Just a little damage to the shoulder."

"He was protecting me." Lena added unhelpfully.

"And exactly why did he have to protect you?" Dad asked, his voice having the slightest edge to it. I nearly groaned. Lena and Roluck had insisted, despite my objections. I knew exactly how this was going to go. Dad had no problems with other species, even with his experience in the First Contact War. Which meant he'd feel perfectly comfortable with grilling them for endangering my safety.

"I was doing my job." She answered evenly, her voice neither hostile nor friendly. "He was holding down a position and a grenade got too close."

Dad settled down a little, leaning back in his chair and looking back at me with an appraising look in his eyes.

"Sir," Roluck ventured, glancing around the table before looking at my father, "I don't know if it's the same for humans, but a turian father would be damned proud of what Henry has accomplished."

"And I am damn proud." He answered, directing his gaze at me and smiling. "And your mother is damned proud, as well. She sends her regards. Hopefully, she can come with me the next time we do this. She's been worried about you since Eden Prime."

"I'd like to see her." I agreed.

The woman sitting next to dad cleared her throat.

"Ah, yes." Dad said, glancing at her fondly. "This is Corporal Allison Shields. She's been a decent-"

"One of the best, sir." She cut in, smiling at him. Her voice had a very heavy southern accent, from the North American continent.

"Frigate pilot in her time with the fleet." He continued, unfettered. "I'd seen reports that the Peacemaker needs a dedicated pilot and sent her resume along wit ha couple others. Alliance command picked her out."

"Because I'm one of the best." She finished with a grin.

"And she's one of the biggest troublemakers." My father added with a slight frown. "Tell them how you figured out how to pilot a turian ship."

"Hijacked a docked turian ship when I was sixteen." She replied immediately, grinning. "The bastards had left it empty while they were on shor leave."

"The Alliance picked her up and decided she'd be better use as a pilot than another inmate." Dad said.

A waitress arrived and took our orders. Dad, Allison and I all got steaks. Roluck got some sort of dextro-amino meal. The asari waiter turned away and dad looked up.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" He asked the waitress, watching her carefully.

"No." The asari said with a pretty smile, "I don't think so."

He pointedly directed his gaze at Lena. Lena was staring at the table, undoubtedly unsurprised at the blatant racism.

"Um..." She said, her brow drawn down a little, "Our manager has a policy that we're not allowed to serve quarians."

Roluck cleared his throat and looked at me. I stared at him, not sure what he wanted, then I remembered that I'd been given a trump card.

"Tell him, from me, 'tough shit.'" I said, reaching into my back pocket. I pulled out the diplomatic badge and laid it on the table. The asari's eyes widened.

"What's your favorite flavor, honey?" Dad asked Lena with a kind smile, going into full-on 'overprotective father' mode. He did this a lot when he saw people getting treated unfairly. Especially if they were my age or if they were women. I suspected that a lot of that attitude came from what happened to Elizabeth.

"Blueberries." She muttered. "I believe they are a delicacy for your species. Expensive, th-"

"Get this woman some blueberry paste." He ordered. "Tell your manager I'll be speaking with him when we've finished our meal."

"Y-yes, sir." She answered, scurrying off. Dad watched her go with narrowed eyes, then smiled and looked back at us.

"You should've used that on C-Sec when you were last here." Roluck answered. Lena was still staring at the table, probably embarrassed. She was strong-willed, but I don't think she enjoyed being the center of attention.

"What happened last time you were here?" Allison asked. Dad glanced at her, then at me.

"He saved one of our engineers from sexual assault." Lena answered for us, still staring at the table. "He and one of our Marines took on a pair of mercenaries and managed to subdue them."

"Boy," Allison said, directing a smile my way, "You just get into all kinds of trouble, dontcha?"

"It seems like it." Dad answered, smiling. "That's one fight I'm glad you got into."

"Are all humans so accepting?" Lena wondered, looking at Allison and dad.

"Most of us aren't exactly treated with respect, either." My father said, his face grim, "I have to bludgeon and yell for the modicum of respect I get when I come here."

"You realize, after a while-" Roluck started. Everyone looked at him, the one guy here who wasn't treated as a second class citizen, "That everybody more or less has the same problems, the same struggles and the same successes. Sure, maybe I have to eat special foods and our culture is a little different, but I'm equally affected by new life, a lack of money...your people dying around you."

That last one was undoubtedly directed at me.

"There's no real reason to hate each other, though I understand why the krogan do." Roluck finished. "Just imagine what we could all accomplish if we actually pooled our resources and got things done."

"Surprisingly tolerant of you, son." Dad told him.

Our food arrived, carried by our very uncomfortable-looking waitress. We started to dig in, with Lena screwing in a tube of paste into a port on her helmet.

"So I've been meaning to ask, Henry." He said, chewing on a piece of beef, "How've you been doing since Eden Prime?"

I looked around, relieved to find that everyone was too busy with their meals to really be paying attention. Except Lena. Maybe. I couldn't really tell.

"I'm better." I told him, "Not as...guilty, I guess. I haven't really had time to sit around, so I don't worry about it much."

"Good, good." He said.

"What happened?" Allison wondered.

"Well..." I muttered, "The geth attacked Eden Prime. I was there, with the 2nd Frontier Division. We were wiped out. Me and two other guys mowed down a geth platoon before Zeta showed up."

"What happened to the other two guys?" Allison asked. I noticed that dad had gone silent, concerned eyes on me.

"They didn't make it." Roluck answered.

There was a brief silence.

"So what would I be expected to do on missions?" Allison asked me.

"The ship's probably the fastest frigate the entire galaxy has, though it lacks stealth systems." Roluck answered, "With a dedicated pilot, we'll be able to get in, complete our mission and get out without having to park the damn thing."

"What's the chance of me seeing an engagement?" She asked.

"Depends on the mission." Roluck answered with a shrug.

"Well, count me in." She replied, giving me a grin. "I could use a good ride or two."

I looked around, trying and failing to not catch any innuendo. I think dad noticed it, too. The way he narrowed her eyes at her briefly suggested he did. He didn't say anything though, waiting until she and everyone else was engaged in their meal.

"Just be careful out there, Henry." Dad said quietly. "Your mom and I worry about you and after Elizabeth...just...try not to take any unnecessary risks."

"Only the ones I can't avoid, dad." I promised him.

"Elizabeth?" Lena asked, her voice clearly indicating that she was trying to lighten the mood. "Who is that, Henry? Former bondmate?"

I groaned aloud, wishing dad hadn't mentioned her. The problem with my father was every time he got serious or focused, he tended to ignore everything else. It sounded like a bad trait to have on the battlefield, but it made him an expert at planning small, effective precision strikes. Unfortunately, that tended to carry over into every aspect of his life. It was especially bad, since Lena wasn't unable to follow the subtlety and wording of other species' conversations, just their moods.

I looked over at Roluck, who was shaking his head. Allison's mouth was wide as she stared at Lena. Dad seemed to realize his mistake and his jaw was set tight. Lena seemed blissfully unaware of the attention, as she waited for an answer. I decided to just give her one.

"She was my sister."

"_Was_-" Lena started, then her voice abruptly stopped. She looked around the table, seeing the various reactions. "Oh! Oh...I-I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Dad said, "It happened a long time ago."

But that was a lie, wasn't it? Six years was not that long ago. Elizabeth had been fourteen, at the time. It was incredible that, with all our technology, with all of our warships and all of our weapons, my sister had died of a simple staph infection. We'd caught it too late, too late for anyone to fix. My father had even gotten one of the best doctors-from the CItadel- to look at her. The asari had shaken her head and told us to make peace with her.

There'd been one night left, after that. Elizabeth had watched us all with red-rimmed eyes. We all knew it'd be that night. She'd bravely smiled and told us not to worry. We put on the best front we could, pretending to be happy. We'd had one last night on Horizon, where we had watched the fireworks show that evening in private. She could've spent another day in the hospital, but there had been no point. She'd died during the show.

There had been no pretense, then. No reason to keep a straight face. We'd broken down. I'd joined the Marines soon after. Honestly, through all the bullshit at bootcamp and all the training, she was what had gotten me through. I would sometimes picture her watching over me before I went to sleep at night. The thought was comforting, but eventually the wound had scabbed over. It was a wound that would never heal, though.

I looked up at dad and saw the same thing going through his mind. He looked up at me and we shared a pained expression. The rest of the table was dead silent.

"S-sorry." Lena whispered. Nobody answered her.

The remainder of the meal passed in silence, with even Allison staying quiet. Those of us on Zeta were rudely surprised when our omni-tools received a message from Elura.

_Council didn't buy our thesis. _Said the short message, _Got another pickup mission, would still like the Team to tag along. Meet at the Peacemaker in thirty minutes._

I sighed and scooted back from the table.

"Dad," I started, "we gotta go. Mission came up."

"That means I'm going too, right?" Allison asked. Roluck nodded at her.

"Don't worry," Dad said with a smirk, "I'll foot the bill. And talk to that asshole manager."

"Thanks." I said, standing up. Dad stood up as well, holding a hand out. I grabbed it and he slapped his other hand on my shoulder.

"Seriously, son." He said, gazing at me grimly. "Keep in touch."

"I will." I assured him, before we all turned to leave. Allison came with us. Roluck and Lena were ahead. Suddenly, Allison was next to Roluck and Lena slowed down to walk next to me.

"Henry." She spoke softly, slowing down and making me match her speed as Roluck and Allison sped ahead. Roluck and Lena had planned this. "I really am sorry for what ha-"

"Don't be." I told her, "You didn't know any better."

"What happened?" She wondered. Roluck and Allison were out of sight, now.

"Staph infection." I replied as we passed the Citadel tower. "We all caught it too late to turn the tide. Nothing could be done."

"That's a familiar story, for us." Lena said quietly, as we waited for the elevator. "My people die like that, all the time."

"It's not the same, Lena." I told her. The elevator door opened and we stepped in. "It's not a constant risk. It came out of nowhere. She was so brave, Lena. We all were. We all pretended, down to her last moment, that it wasn't happening. One of the only times we were all ever together was because she was dying."

"That's...sad." Lena told me.

"Christ," I ran my hand through my hair. "I guess...I guess if we don't do our jobs, stories like that are going to repeat all over the place."

"Right." Lena answered.

I sighed.

"God dammit." I muttered, "I miss her."

_**STT Zeta**_  
_**Captain Elura Unami - Asari, Commando**_  
_**Lieutenant Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Lena'Zuril Vas Uline - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Mercenary**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Pilot**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew**_


	11. Chapter 11

There wasn't much to this mission. We were being dropped on a small research world in the Hades Nexus cluster by the name of Gei Hinnom. There were Prothean ruins down there and the scientists had found something big. That wasn't what was on everybody's mind, though.

There was silence in the briefing room. Allison had joined us. Elura had decided that it'd be best if she was briefed in full on each mission, so she'd know what to do if there were any situations.

"The Council just laughed at General Toulius and I." Elura muttered dejectedly. "We presented our evidence, then our theories. They just...laughed. They're more worried about the talking geth than the Old Machines. So was the General, honestly."

"The Council has always been filled with shortsighted fools." Krieg grunted. "That hasn't changed in the eight hundred years I've been around. For now, we need to worry about what we can do."

"Yes," Elura agreed, smiling a little, "The mission. I'll be taking Krieg, Elura and Errahe with me. Roluck, I know you have calibrations to make and Henry, you have some armor-"

"-And a shotgun" Krieg interrupted. He shot a predator's grin at me and I nodded.

"To fix." She finished.

"Yeah," I told her, "No problem."

We all headed down to the shuttle bay. As the four of them piled onto the transport, I started breaking apart Krieg's shotgun. He had a replacement, for the moment. It honestly wouldn't take me more than fifteen minutes to get this done, there just hadn't been time before. I'd been forced to swap out some shoulder armor from another piece of heavy armor, first.

I started putting in and replacing components. The shotgun was going to be heavier up front, but I was sure Krieg could handle it just fine.

I had just finished putting the weapon back together before doing a functions check. I made sure there was no thermal clip in the weapon, took it off safe and pulled the trigger. There was a satisfying click that informed me the weapon was still working as intended.

"Sergeant Gerrard, Lieutenant Vether!" Allison's voice sounded over the intercom, I looked up in surprise. "Elura and her team have been pinned down! The entire science team is attacking them. I'm going to drop you in the Mako. As a reminder, there's barely an atmosphere there, so helmets will be required. Get ready to go."

As I grabbed my weapons and my armor, Roluck came down. He nodded to me and started gearing up without a word.

"This is going to be rough." I told him, "That's a lot of people to fight through."

"We have a tank." He scoffed, "We'll be fine."

I picked up the Claymore off the table as Roluck headed for the Mako. He stopped in front of it and waited for me before asking:

"Do you want to drive?"

"You bet I do." I answered.

"Good." He said, "I drive like I'm drunk. I'll take the turret and booster controls."

He opened a hatch up at the front of the vehicle and climbed in first. I followed him in.

The Mako had a cramped little cockpit, meant only to fit three. It wasn't hot in here, because these bad boys came with environmental systems within that blocked out the environment outside. In this helmet, I felt like I had a very limited field of vision. I could still see in front of me, but I couldn't see much out of the corners of my eyes.

"We are ready, Shields." Roluck informed her from the Mako's communicator.

"I hope Lena's alright." I muttered.

This was driven a lot like any car would be driven. There was one prong for each hand, one to control steering and the other to control speed. The brakes were at my feet. I'd heard rumors about the handling of this beast. I couldn't wait to try it out.

"I'll be dropping you about two kilometers east of their position." She informed us. "They have the artifact and they're holding, but they need assistance, now."

The shuttle bay door opened and I saw a dismal little planet in front of me. There were mountains and valleys, but they were all brown and lacked any vegetation. There were buildings on the surface, though. Clearly, they were the research building we were looking for. As the Peacemaker descended, I noticed a couple guns pointed up our way.

"Hold on!" Allison said, tilting the Peacemaker to the side as the AA guns fired up at us. The lasers passed by with only a few feet to spare and she juked to the other side as the AA guns readjusted. We were close enough to the ground, now. I could see, in the distance, a building that had been destroyed, surrounded on all sides by dozens of enemies.

"Go!" Allison yelled. I pushed the Mako throttle forward and with a dull roar, the Mako shot off of the Peacemaker. Then, the Mako was in freefall, with about a hundred feet to go.

"Initiating boosters." Roluck informed me calmly.

The Mako slowed as it neared the ground and we touched down with a slight jolt.

"I'm clear." Allison said, "Do me a favor and after you pick up the team, knock out those AA guns so I can extract you."

"We will." Roluck answered as I started driving us towards the building I'd seen earlier. "Can you raise the team?"

"No." She responded, "They're probably too busy to respond."

"So what's the plan?" I asked Roluck.

"Roll in there, shoot everything, roll out." Roluck replied immediately.

"I like it." I told him, chuckling. "It's simple. What the hell is a research colony doing with AA guns?"

"I don't know." Roluck answered.

We went flying off of a small hill and started soaring through the air. There was a sudden lift that felt suspiciously like boosters that lifted us even further. I looked at Roluck, who was staring back innocently.

"This is awesome!" I yelled. He laughed and disengaged the boosters as we entered freefall and slammed back into the ground.

When we got close, we found ourselves behind a bunch of auxillary structures that the scientists were hiding behind. They were all armed with either assault rifles or pistols. All of them were still in their uniforms. They weren't all human, either. There were salarians, asari and even a turian all dressed up.

"This is so strange." I muttered.

The were firing into the structure, which had little cover that everybody was back up against.

"Anybody needing some assistance?" Roluck asked as I went sliding around, taking out a pair of scientists and nearly flipping the damn thing.

_So much for a slick, glorious entrance._I thought to myself. I think Roluck was a little disappointed that instead of coming in with laser precision and professionalism, we'd stumbled into the fight like a drunken bear.

"Thank the Goddess." Elura said, "Block off that avenue, will you?"

I drove forward, ignoring the people firing at the Mako, until we'd almost reached the rest of Zeta. I turned the Mako around so that it shielded the rest of the team from view.

"Get up there with the rifle." Roluck ordered, "I'll give the turret a workout."

I opened the hatch up and stood on the ladder, pulling out the Black Widow. I looked behind me to find Krieg reloading his shotgun, frustration evident in his face.

"Krieg!" I yelled. He looked up at me and I thrust the Claymore from me as hard as I could. Krieg grinned like a child being given candy as he reached out, caught it and then spun and blew a hole in an approaching scientist. Another came from his left and he twisted and blew the scientist's head clean off. No reloading was done between shots.

"NICE!" He yelled, giving me an appreciative nod before getting back to killing. I unfolded the Black Widow and scanned out to the direction we were blocking. My primary concern was to pick off anybody trying to edge around the vehicle to get a clear shot at Zeta. I spotted my first target, trying to strafe out left so he could get an angled shot in at the bunkered-down team. I aimed quickly and fired as I heard the turret roar to life above me.

There was something very wrong here. I couldn't pinpoint it. Even though we were mowing down attacking civilians, which was strange enough, there was something else I couldn't quite put my finger on.

The scientist dropped and I switched to a nearby target, putting a round in his chest. He fell away, his hand to his wound. The cannon boomed overhead and I found an asari trying to sneak through cover to get in a better position. She'd poke her head out to check and see if the coast was clear. I waited for her to do it again, then fired and drilled a hole through her jaw. She went down quietly.

_That's it._ I thought to myself. I ducked down to reload as rounds started pinging off of the Mako. _Nobody's screaming._

During a battle, there was always screaming and yelling. Some of it was the yelling of orders, while some screamed in pain after being shot. There was no screaming in pain. There was nobody telling anyone what to do. Just silent.

"There are too many of them!" I yelled into my comms unit as I popped back up and started looking for targets. There was a problem: There were too many targets. I had thirty just on this side and the Mako, while tough, wasn't going to last forever.

"We need to evacuate." Roluck suggested.

"Yes." Elura said, sounding a little distressed. "Yes, we do."

I fired into a nearby salarian, then sighted in on a man circling around the Mako. There were too many and they were getting too close. I had a thought.

"If Krieg and I stay up top." I said, "The rest of you can fit into the cabin."

It would work. Errahe and Lena were pretty small.

"Thanks for volunteering me, asshole." Krieg growled.

"It's our only way out." Elura argued. "The Mako can't clear us a route when we're completely surrounded."

There was a moment of silence, followed by, "Roluck, clear us long enough to get into the Mako."

"You got it." He answered from inside the Mako. He looked up at me. "Good luck."

I nodded and put the Black Widow away, drawing the Phalanx instead.

"I'm covering the left!" I yelled.

I drilled a pair of rounds into an approaching man who had just started running at me blindly. I turned to my side as a round skipped off the Mako at my feet. A pair into a salarian and the rest of Zeta was running. They climbed up and started dropping into the cabin. I noticed that Elura had her arm wrapped around some sort of...red chunk of metal. Krieg was the last one up. We both circled an arm around the turret of the Mako.

"We're good." He growled into the comms unit. "Get us out of here."

Somebody slammed on the throttle and we both were nearly thrown to the ground. We still held fast as the Mako started to plow through the scientists. Krieg and I were both keeping our heads low, more concerned with not getting shot during the escape than taking a couple more out.

"You made me quite a badass weapon, Gerrard!" He yelled.

"I do my best!" I yelled back, dipping as we hit a bump and letting my legs absorb the shock.

Then, we were out of range of the scientists. They still followed us, but the shots were falling short.

"There was something very strange about that attack." I confided in Krieg.

"Aside from the fact they were civilians?" He grunted, looking back at the ruins.

"Yeah." I answered. "That was strange, but the other issue was-"

"The silence." Krieg finished. "It wasn't natural. No group of enemies that large is completely silent during an assault. Especially not a bunch of scientists."

"There were no orders." I continued, "No screaming of the wounded, nothing."

"Unnatural." He agreed, then he eyed me with an orange gaze. "I'm surprised you caught that. You'd make a half decent officer on the battlefield."

"Don't insult me, Krieg." I joked. Krieg laughed uproariously, giving me a slap on the back as we neared the AA guns. The friendly slap almost separated my spinal column, but I grinned regardless.

"We're on our way to the AA guns and our transport." Elura reported, "We've secured our objective and we're going to be needing a pickup soon, Shields."

"Long as I'm not dodging laser fire on the way in," Allison responded, "you could ask me to pick you up on the side of a mountain."

"I'll keep that in mind, next time." Elura said. I looked behind us to see the scientists running towards us. I'd estimate we had about three minutes to bring down those AA guns and get picked up before they were on us again.

"Just couldn't keep my damn mouth shut." Allison griped.

"Krieg, Henry, you two okay up there?" Elura asked.

"We're making tea up here, Elura." I answered, "But they're still following us. We'll probably have a few minutes to bring down the AA guns."

"Alright, here's the plan." She said, "I'm gonna send Lena up to disable the shields on both of the AA guns. We'll establish a defensive perimeter in the enemy's direction. I'll stay in the Mako, to keep the tech safe and keep the guns ready. When Lena takes the shields down, I'll shoot down the AA guns. Shields, we're going to need you swing very low and hover for thirty seconds so we can get the Mako and the shuttle up in the shuttle bay."

"Roger." Allison replied.

"What?"

"Affirmative."

We stopped just short of the two AA guns that were built in front of jumped to the ground, scanning around to pick my spot. Krieg and Errahe picked a couple spots up front to get as close as possible. Roluck picked a spot behind them at a little higher elevation, so he could keep an eye on the two and shoot down on the enemy. I decided to stay right on top of the Mako. I got down on my belly and reloaded the Black Widow.

"Hey, sniper." Krieg growled.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"They're a little less than three thousand yards out." He observed, "Think you can hit one?"

"This is hardly the time for-" Elura started, but I drowned her out as I looked down the scope, controlled my breathing and picked a target. Right up front, a male human who was sprinting at us with a pistol in hand. I estimated his range to be a bit over 2800 yards out. The record was 3100 yards, as far as I knew. But that was with a visor and a rifle modified specifically for that purpose. I squeezed the trigger lightly between breaths.

In a plume of red, his head disappeared and he dropped, tripping a couple of his comrades that were running behind him.

Roluck let out a low whistle.

"Impressive." Errahe observed.

"Beat them all in a fistfight." Krieg grunted, "Then I'll be impressed."

"That's why you're here." I informed him, "So I don't have to."

"Pay attention, people." Elura snapped.

I dropped a couple more with body shots, then Lena said, "We're good, the shields are down!"

"Start your approach, Shields!" Elura yelled.

Lena went bolting past the Mako as I reloaded. I heard the turret rotating over my head. Lena settled in next to Krieg. I aimed back in as the Mako began to fire at the AA guns. I dropped one more, before they were on top of us. Krieg, Lena and Errahe started lighting them up, their short range weapon creating havoc. Roluck had his assault rifle out, not firing quickly, but each round he fired ended up in somebody's head. I heard an explosion behind me as I brought down a salarian who was firing at Errahe.

"Frontline to the shuttle!" Elura yelled as I heard the Peacemaker hover overhead. The front line began to retreat, as everyone covered their retreat with suppressing fire. Lena, Errahe and Krieg went sprinting towards the shuttle as I switched to my pistol. Roluck backed up, still firing his rifle. He climbed onto the Mako as I dropped an asari with a round to the gut. There was no time for a follow-up shot, as I switched targets to a man who breached the defenses. The asari next to him went down, courtesy of Roluck, as I planted a round in the man's brain.

I heard the shuttle take off and kept up the fire, the shots now meant to force them away, rather than kill. Suddenly, there was a jolt as the Mako started to lift, the boosters exerting all the force possible. I bent my legs and gripped the cannon, making sure I didn't get tossed off the rather treacherous surface of the Mako. Elura managed to guide the vehicle into the open shuttle bay just before the boosters gave out. The shuttle bay door closed, sealing the bay and restoring normal atmosphere.

"We're safe." Elura said, "Get us out of here."

There was a moment, then:

"We're clear." Allison reported, "We will be arriving at the mass relay in a half hour. Should be at the Citadel in one hour."

"Thank you," Elura said, as she pulled off her breather mask. I released the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I released the helmet lock and tugged it off before looking around.

Elura turned to Roluck and I as he disengaged his helmet.

"And thank you two." She said, "You saved us from certain death."

"Can't believe a turian pulled my ass out of the fire." Krieg grumbled.

"Would've been forced to fight them all myself, if not for you two." Errahe agreed. "Better for morale if everyone gets a shot in."

I laughed as Lena slunk away towards the elevators.

_Probably off to talk with her engineers and make sure everything's going well._I mused.

"So what was this artifact?" I asked. Elura clambered back over to the Mako and reached into the cabin. She pulled out the artifact I'd seen her carrying earlier. It was surprisingly large, about half the size of Elura. It was a dark red color and had clearly been buried on that planet for a while, but it looked relatively undamaged. I was looking at it, spellbound. It was obviously a piece of something bigger and whatever it was a piece of had to be goddamn intricate. It looked so foreign, whatever it was.

"I don't like it." Krieg announced.

"Me neither." Roluck said, "I've got a very bad feeling about it."

"Mm-hmm." I agreed, nodding.

"Suggest spacing it." Errahe advised, "Seems to be more trouble than worth. Can tell Council it was lost."

"I've never failed a mission." Elura snapped at Errahe. "No matter how grisly it got. I won't fail this one. I'll keep the artifact in my room and we'll all be there in front of the Council. goddess know they're angry enough. Apparently, there was something that went terribly wrong with a mission on Feros, so this will probably end up taking some explaining. We just killed forty or fifty civilians "

I sighed, my victorious mood thoroughly spoiled as Elura marched onto the elevator, artifact in hand.

"Is it just me?" Roluck asked after the door closed, "Or is she turning into a serious piece of work?"

"She's a piece of something." Krieg growled, "Don't know if it's 'work'."

I released a much needed laugh.

_**STT Zeta**_  
_**Captain Elura Unami - Asari, Commando**_  
_**Lieutenant Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Lena'Zuril Vas Uline - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Mercenary**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Pilot**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew**_


	12. Chapter 12

This time, when we hit the Citadel, the quarians had all decided to stay on the ship. General Toulius had also decided that, as non Council species, it would be best if Lena, Krieg and I stayed out of their view. As in, he wanted us to stay on the ship, as well.

I'd been pissed at first, though Lena and Krieg didn't particularly care. I could see the reasoning behind it, but I wasn't any less furious because the racism was rationalized. Roluck had assured me that everything would be fine and also informed me that he and Errahe were both going to go in on a present for me. I'd told him he didn't need to, but he'd insisted.

So, when they left, I'd gotten something to eat upstairs for a half hour. After that, I'd goneto the weapons bench, taken off the shirt and contented myself with working on my project. I had a Javelin on my weapons bench. The Javelin was an anti-materiel rifle, which meant it was purposed towards destroying enemy equipment. Not that it couldn't punch a hole right through a soldier, far from it. It just traded laser-accuracy for overwhelming power.

Out of this rifle, I wanted the firing chamber and the mass effect block. That was where this weapon got its power from. I broke apart the upper and lower receiver of the weapon and was about to start extracting pieces when the elevator chimed. I was expecting it to be Krieg, or maybe Lena.

What I did not expect was for General Toulius and a Navy Captain to step off the lift. The guy was pretty big, with dark skin and similarly dark eyes. His hair was cut short, the kind of short I expected to see from a strict man. As I walked in, he looked me over critically. I straightened up and became very aware that I was out of uniform.

"Uh-sir!" I greeted, grabbing my shirt off the Mako, "Sorry, sir. I was ju-"

"Carry on as you were, Sergeant." The Captain directed. "I'm Captain Anderson. I'm taking over as the point of contact on the Citadel."

"Yes, sir." I said, uncertainly bringing my arm back down. I assumed the position of parade rest, waiting to hear what they wanted.

"We're just here to conduct an informal inspection." General Toulius told me.

"With respect, sir." I said, "Zeta's going to need all the help they can get explaining themselves to the Council."

"That's already finished." General Toulius said, looking the slightest bit uneasy. "We managed to convince the Council that you did the right thing."

"Which, God knows, is hard enough these days." Captain Anderson growled. "Those self-concerned assholes are more concerned with their own political hides than th-"

"Regardless," General Toulius said, glancing at the man and then back at me. "I underestimated you. A few weeks ago, I was waiting for you to die. I was sure you wouldn't make it through this outfit. I've read about your rescue of Lena'Zuril vas Iline on your first mission, as well as the stand you took against the Blood Pack on Omega. Not to mention the shrapnel you took protecting your squadmate. Now you and Lieutenant Vether apparently staged a daring rescue to secure the rest of your pinned-down team."

"He did more than I did, sir." I told him, feeling a little uncomfortable about the grim praise. "I just drove the Mako."

"You apparently pulled off a headshot that was just over 2800 yards on a moving target." Captain Anderson said. "Even in my prime, I would've been very hard pressed to get over 2500."

"He was running towards me, sir." I answered with a shrug, "And I'm specifically trained as a sniper. It wasn't too hard."

"So how do you feel about being a Staff Sergeant?" Captain Anderson asked.

I felt my mouth drop.

_Staff Sergeant._ I mused, _There's something I never thought I'd see._

"S-Sir," I said, "I'm not even eligible for three more months."

"Son," Captain Anderson said, his eyes locked on me, "You are representing humanity in a big way, right now. We've...fallen a little out of favor, these days. Our Spectre is doing us proud, personally, but the Council isn't too happy with her."

"So it's political, sir?" I asked, feeling the slightest bit annoyed.

"I won't lie and pretend that's not part of it." General Toulius said, "But then again, the STT in itself is partially political."

_Fair point._I conceded.

"Even aside from that," Captain Anderson said, "Your actions deserve commendation. That information that Zeta provided about the geth was invaluable."

"With respect, sir," I said, "I'm more concerned about the Old Machines."

"Ah yes, the 'Old Machines'." The turian general answered, air quoting around 'Old Machines'. "An unknown mass of ships powerful enough to annihilate the Citadel. We're not too worried about that. The geth are easily persuaded."

I didn't argue. I figured that if the rest of Zeta had already tried, there was no point of me trying to convince him.

"The ramifications of your information aside," Captain Anderson started, glaring at the General. I could tell that Captain Anderson had a different opinion on the Old Machines. He stopped speaking, though, when the door opened again and Lena stepped out. She stopped suddenly as the door closed behind her, her stiff posture informing me that she was a bit shocked to see a General and a Captain here.

"Sirs." She ventured. "I apologize for the interruption. I was going to speak to Sergeant Gerrard."

Captain Anderson smiled back at her.

"We were just wrapping this up anyways, Lieutenant." He told her. She stiffened even further, surprised that he knew her rank. My opinion of this man had just gone up a little more. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, Staff Sergeant."

"Yes, sir." I said, as General Toulius turned to Lena and struck up a quick conversation with her.

Captain Anderson glanced over his shoulder at the turian general, then looked back at me.

"I want your reports on the Old Machines." He said in a conspiratorial mutter. "I believe you, son, but I'm being given the runaround on this information. I have no...authority...to ask this of you, but I'm the only one willing to do anything about this. Would you be willing to take this chance with me? I don't have a lot of options."

I looked over his shoulder to see that General Toulius was still busy. I looked back at Captain Anderson.

_The man seems earnest enough._ I admitted,_ And I could certainly use a mutually beneficial partnership with somebody at the Citadel._

"You'll have the first report by the end of the day." I assured him, "My own report. Anything else I find out will be sent to you, sir."

"Good man." He said, grinning widely and sticking a hand out. I grasped it and he clapped a hand over my shoulder. "Stay safe out there, Staff Sergeant."

"Yes, sir." I answered. He turned to General Toulius, who had just finished speaking to Lena.

"What was that about?" He asked Captain Anderson as they stepped into the elevator.

"Just telling our new Staff Sergeant how displeased I am with his liberal interpretation of our uniform regulations." Captain Anderson lied as he pressed a button on the panel. He winked at me right before the door closed.

"He was really mad at you about the shirt?" Lena asked, turning to me.

"No." I told her, "He was covering up. What he's really after is information on the Old Machines."

"At least someone is listening." She grumbled.

"I know." I said, getting back to my weapon. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Just wanted to check on you." She answered with a shrug. "Then again, I guess I should congratulate you. Staff Sergeant."

"Well thanks, Ma'am." I said with a grin, addressing her the way we were supposed to address officers. She visibly flinched at the title. "Maybe one day, I'll reach the coveted officer ranks."

"As I recall..." She started, her voice amused, "You told Krieg you aren't exactly officer material."

"Me?" I asked, "Hell no. Half the time, I'm out of regs. The other half, I'm out of line."

She laughed, then braced herself on the table.

"Why don't you like the idea of being an officer?" She asked. "More pay and you'd certainly make a good one."

"Officers are a huge problem in the military." I grunted. "If you want something done, talk to the enlisted. If you want a six hundred page report on how something should be done, talk to the officers.

She laughed again and I smiled, glad it was so easy to get a laugh out of her.

"You could change that, though." She argued. "You could be the brave Lieutenant Gerrard, leading Alliance soldiers in the fight against the Old Machines."

"Or I could just do what I do best." I added with a smirk, "I could just shoot everything that shoots at me until there's nothing left to shoot anymore."

"That, too." She hedged, "I was going to see, since we've apparently got the ship for the week and no missions lined up, if-"

She was cut off when Krieg stormed into the room, his usually calm demeanor wild. Usually, I'd consider a borderline rabid krogan a serious threat, but this wasn't an anger.

_No,_ I observed, _he's incredibly jubilant about something._

I couldn't imagine just what he was so enthusiastic about.

"Gerrard! Lena!" He yelled, pointing at us, "I need to speak to you!"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I know I already owe you one for the shotgun, Gerrard." He said, "But I need a favor."

"What's the favor?" I asked.

"I'm having a daughter!" He exclaimed.

I felt my eyes widen involuntarily.

_I thought that was impossible!_

I still felt incredibly happy and proud for him. I clapped a hand on his shoulder and he barely looked at me, he was so excited. I'd never seen a krogan this upbeat in my life.

"I thought you couldn't!" Lena exclaimed, enthusiastic and giddy.

"The doctors confirmed it!" He yelled, "One in a thousand chance and I won the lottery!"

"That's incredible." I told him honestly, "I'm glad for you, but what do you want from us?"

His expression darkened and the joyous look vanished.

"My mate has been kidnapped." He grunted. "Clan Weyrloc. Tuchunka doesn't have a ton of newborns to go around. The clan with the most can usually curry a little more power. Right now, Urdnot is doing best. Weyrloc has done this before, before the father gets notified. But I got notified. She'll be giving birth in six hours. And I'm saving my damn daughter."

He looked at the two of us.

"Errahe can't be there." He said, quietly, "He'll be torn apart in a second. Roluck can't go, either. Turians aren't exactly welcomed on Tuchunka. Elura's being a bitch right now, but she's willing to at least let me off at Tuchunka if I can get a couple people to go. I don't like asking for help, but this is my daughter. I need both of you."

I thought about what would happen if I found out my daughter had been kidnapped. (If I'd had one)

"I can't speak for Lena." I told him, clapping a hand on his shoulder, "But I'd be glad to help."

"Count me in, too." Lena replied.

A smile spread to his face.

"Krogan don't have many friends around this galaxy." He told us. "I won't forget this. Either of you."

"Have Allison set that course." I recommended. "I'll get ready."

"I will." He replied with a nod. He ran to the elevator. When he went up, Lena looked at me.

"We need to get some sleep." She joked.

"It's for a good cause." I shrugged.

"Yes, it is." She said.

"What were you going to say before?" I wondered. She looked up at me. I sensed embarrassment from her, for some reason.

"It's not important." She said, "We can deal with it later."

I gave her a pat on the back and said, "You should probably start getting ready."

She gave me a long look, then nodded.

"I should." She agreed, sounding highly distracted. She walked to the elevator and I got back to work on my prototype. Tuchunka would be an excellent place to test it, if I could get it done in time. I pulled the components out as the ship got moving. Within moments, the elevator opened again. This time Errahe and Roluck came out.

"How're you doing, Staff Sergeant?" Roluck asked, a turian shit-eating grin on his face.

"Thinking about breaking into the scotch after I help Krieg out." I told him. "You should join the two of us, I'm gonna pick up some Ryncol for him on Tuchunka."

"I might just have to." Roluck agreed. He looked at Errahe.

"I do not drink." He refused. "Am glad to see that humanity desperate enough to promote you, Gerrard."

I laughed, then Roluck looked at me.

"I'm glad you're helping out." He said, "The big guy deserves it. Anyways, the team went in on a little something for you. A 'thank-you' for pulling the rest of us-minus me-out of the way."

He slapped a small case onto the weapons bench. I opened it up to find a strange-looking device. There was a circle on the end and then it curved around in a straight line.

"It's great!" I exclaimed, then looked up. "What the hell is it?"

"It's a visor." He explained. Holding it out to me, he said, "It's meant for humans. Put it around your ear.

I did so, feeling stupid at having a piece of metal extending over one eye. Suddenly, a little blue interface popped up over my eye. When I looked at Errahe and Roluck, a little targeting reticle popped up over both of them that displayed some sort of tiny technical readouts. I was surprised by the detail that went into this reticle.

"Adjusts based one neurological needs." Errahe explained. "Will be good for pretty much anything."

"Thanks, guys."' I said, looking down at the broken down weapon. The interface showed a bunch of different specifications on each part. I nearly wet myself with glee. "I'll be able to get a lot of use out of this."

"Well," Roluck said, "We'll get out of your way. I know you have a mission coming up."

"Thanks again, guys." I said as they walked into the elevator.

"Can I get porn on this thing?" I idly wondered aloud. I turned my attention back to my project.

I pulled out the complicated mass effect block out carefully, followed by the firing chamber. I looked down at my omni-tool. I had another hour until we reached Tuchunka. Plenty of time to finish this project. I took the Black Widow from my gear locker and looked at my armor for a moment. The white shoulder pad I'd attached to the blue armor looked surprisingly good. I mentally shrugged and went back to the workbench.

The next half hour was spent laboriously reconstructing the interior components of the Black Widow. When I finally hammered the last peg into place to lock the weapon, it felt a bit heavier. But that was the tradeoff for the extra power.

When I was done, I put my armor and sat on the Mako. This was the worst part of these journeys. When I slipped into alone time. When I had nothing to think about and just let my mind wander. I couldn't help but feel that our team was inevitably inching towards something. I couldn't fit all the pieces together that led to this feeling, but I still couldn't shake it.

I thought of what would happen if I didn't make it. I imagined mom and dad breaking down. As the thoughts passed, I realized I was in a place I didn't want to be.

I landed on Elizabeth. I remembered holding her hand while she'd slowly faded out. I thought about the bravery I'd seen from everyone. Even my father, who'd seen combat for so long, barely had the courage to hold out.

_Think about something else._

So I shut that down and let my mind wander elsewhere.

Oddly enough, my thoughts wandered to Lena. I started to imagine her walking my way, hips swaying, that serious but upbeat voice saying my name.

I shook her out of my thoughts. There was no way, right? I looked down at my hands.

"No." I muttered to myself. "It's unprofessional. She's-"

_Beautiful?_My mind interjected.

"Dammit." I muttered to myself. "It's only been three weeks and I don't even know what she looks like."

_Does it matter?_ I thought. I looked back at Elizabeth. Our entire family would've killed for one more hour with her. _Sometimes, you take the chance. You may not be able to, later._

I realized that I was right. I needed to say something. Either make this work or fix this problem right off the bat. I looked down at the PDA lying on my work bench.

_A message would be best._ I thought to myself, _It won't force her for an answer immediately. It's more professional like this, anyways. Just type it up now, hide the PDA in your locker, then send it to her after the mission, so there are no distractions during the missions._

I sighed and picked up the datapad. I slowly started to type the message.

_Lena,_  
_I'm sorry to do this to you, but I really want to settle this before it gets in the way of any of our work._  
_I know we've only know each other a few weeks, but I have come to care about you in a way that is a little more than simple comradarie. So some time, when we're not neck deep in geth or mercenaries, would you like to take time off, just the two of us?_

_I don't even know if it's possible between us. Either way, I'd understand if your answer is no. I won't hold it against you._

_Henry_

I was shaken out of my writing when Allison walked out of the elevator, fiery hair in a ponytail.

"Jesus." I muttered, pushing myself off of the Mako and idly putting the PDA down on the workbench, "Is everyone going to come visit me?"

"You're the hero, Staff Sergeant." Shields said, leaning against the bench and crossing her arms. "Congrats on the promotion, by the way. And nice glasses."

I didn't know what she was talking about until I remembered the interface over my eyes.

"Yeah, the team got it for me." I answered. She looked around the bench, seeing the sniper rifle.

"This is some serious shit, Gerrard." She said, hefting it.

"Not 'Staff Sergeant'?" I wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"I figure you're not the kind who takes pleasure in being called by your rank." She answered, grinning.

"You were right, this time." I told her. "Why are you down here? Doesn't the ship need to be piloted?"

"I've got it on autopilot to Tuchanka." She said with a shrug. "Thought I'd come down here and get to know a little more about the man I'd always heard about."

"Heard about?" I asked.

"Your father talked about you all the time." She drawled. "He was proud of you, y'know?"

"And I'm proud of him." I told him. "Our family is one of those big military deals wh-"

"It's not like that." She said, "He always seemed more proud that...I don't know, you made it?"

"Made it?" I repeated, confused.

"You know," she said, her green eyes on mine, "He seemed so happy that you turned out as well as you did, after...Elizabeth."

"Yeah." I muttered, "That took a little bit of getting over."

"Still, I like the way you turned out."

Her omni-tool suddenly lit up.

"Gotta be up there in a minute...what's this?"

"Way I turned out?" I muttered to myself. I looked up to ask exactly what she meant, to see her holding the datapad. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was set in a frown.

"Give me that." I snapped, snatching the datapad from her hands. It was too late, though. The damage was done. A grin slowly spread over Shields' face. Her green eyes were positively sparkling with glee.

"You dog, Staff Sergeant." She mocked as I grabbed my gear out of my locker, along with my newly-fitted Black Widow.

"I'll pull rank, I swear." I warned her.

"Hey," She said, putting her hands up defensively as we walked towards the elevator, "I won't say a thing, Romeo."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, completely embarrassed. I still felt like I had to justify myself.

"I'm not...good...at these kinds of things." I muttered.

"Coulda fooled me." She joked. Seeing the not-so-amused look on my face, she hurriedly changed gears. "Sorry. Want my advice?"

"No." I answered.

"Too bad." She said, "Just...send it to her. It's fine the way it is. I know it's possible for other species to mix, I'm sure there's a way."

"Unless she says no." I pointed out.

"If she says no, she says no." Allison shot back, "At worst, there will be a couple of awkward days. Then everything will get back to normal."

"I guess you're right." I muttered.

"I'm always right." She pointed out with a grin.

_**STT Zeta**_  
_**Captain Elura Unami - Asari, Commando**_  
_**Lieutenant Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Lena'Zuril Vas Uline - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Mercenary**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Pilot**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew**_


	13. Chapter 13

I leaned out of the transport as we flew out and away from the major population centers of Tuchunka. This planet was a pile of rocks, honestly. Not a bit of green on this world of deserts and rubble. Even the sky was murky, the sunlight being filtered in through a planet's-worth of dust and debris.

"There." Krieg directed Lena, who was piloting this shuttle. I followed his finger to see him pointing out a small clearing amidst some ruins. "It's concealed enough they won't find the shuttle."

Lena followed his instructions, landing in the tiny area with a little difficulty.

"Alright." She said, looking back at the two of us as the shuttle jolted to a stop, "We're good."

"Before we go." Krieg said, looking at the two of us uncomfortably, "I just want the both of you to know that even if this all goes awry, I-"

"Shut up and let's go get your daughter, Krieg." I cut in, saving him from having to awkwardly thank us.

Krieg grinned widely and threw the door to the shuttle open. Lena walked past me to the exit, giving me a quick glance before stepping off the shuttle. I followed her out, closing the door behind me.

It was hot out here, which wasn't entirely unexpected. The atmosphere seemed to be a bit thinner than most worlds, though still breathable. This planet sucked, but then, who was I to judge?

"You know." I said as we started walking towards a large structure a mile ahead, "The Alliance has some pretty serious terraforming projects. They could probably repair Tuchunka, given a few decades."

"Yeah," Krieg said with more than a hint of distaste in his voice, "The same way the turians set up that tower here to fix our atmosphere. Lot of good that's done us. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if they used it to spread the Genophage."

He sighed as we weaved around a broken pillar.

"If this problem is going to be solved," Krieg said, "the krogan need to solve it. Not the galaxy."

I noticed, then, the amount of hopelessness I detected in his voice. It occurred to me that the entire krogan race was probably the most fatalistic of any group I'd ever seen. It was hard to keep a positive outlook when your people were slowly dying off.

_I can't even fathom what it'd be like to see that for eight hundred years._

"So this complex up ahead is a small base used by a fraction of Clan Weyrloc." Krieg said, indicating a complex of rubble about two miles in diameter. "That's where they are keeping her."

"If we're just assaulting a base," Lena started, "Why didn't we bring Roluck or Errahe? Not like Weyrlock's going to particularly care who is shooting at them."

"Because we need to brink Akas back to Clan Urdnot." He explained. I imagined that Akas was the female krogan. "I don't want a salarian or turian around to complicate things."

"They're both pretty understanding, Krieg." Lena pointed out.

"It's not them I'm worried about." Krieg answered as we approached another wave of debris. "The krogan haven't exactly buried our hatred of the salarians and the turians. We don't exactly hold the quarian in high esteem, either."

"Humans?" I asked. Krieg looked back at me.

"They've earned a modicum of begrudging respect." He answered. "The First Contact was proved your kind's strength against one of our most hated enemies. Then your conflicts with the batarians earned you greater favor. Humans are seen as worthy foes, though not as strong as the krogan."

"Foes?" I asked, surprised.

"When everyone's out to kill you, everybody's a foe." Krieg pointed out.

I looked up at the complex, which was about a half mile away.

"So what's the plan, here?" I asked.

"As much as I hate to play politician when my daughter's life is at stake, I know that if I get caught attacking this place, it will be seen as a declaration of war between Urdnot and Weyrlock. Granted, Urdnot will wipe them out, but I refuse to add to our strife over this."

"So to prevent Urdnot from being forced to wipe out Weyrlock," I followed, astounded by the logic, "We need to wipe out this complex."

"Exactly." He grinned. "There are usually only twenty krogan maintaining a facility like this. Lena, I'll need you disabling security systems and any cameras they may have. I know you're a marine and not an expert at hacking, but us krogan don't exactly have strong systems, so it should be easy for you. Gerrard, I need you to do what you do best. I'm going to need you to kill whoever's up front so we can rouse the rest of the clan out of the complex. If we can kill most of them out here, we won't have as hard of a time in there and we can get in and out much quicker."

I conceded the logic to him, though I wasn't too crazy about dealing with twenty or so krogan in open ground. I looked at our battleground. We were in a maze of medium to large sized rubble, enough for me to take cover in. There was about a quarter of a mile between this patch of rubble and the complex. That quarter mile was a stretch of flat desert, which was not where I wanted to be caught fighting a couple dozen krogan. It'd be one hell of an assault.

"Alright, I may have a better idea." I told him, "I'll keep them busy up here. Draw them away from the compound and into this maze."

"I wouldn't be so eager to face two-dozen krogan in close quarters." Krieg said.

"I'm not eager." I told him, "I don't even plan to really put up too much of a fight. Just keep them ru nning around in circles and maybe pick off a couple to keep them interested, if I have the opportunity. While they're busy, you can slip into the compound and slip out without causing so much damage."

"That...that could work." He said.

"That's too dangerous!" Lena argued. I could read worry and anger from her body language. "You'll be running around a maze with a bunch of krogan following you! If you get cornered, you're dead."

"Then I won't get cornered." I promised her, smiling. I put a hand on her shoulder. Even with the suit, I could feel her muscles twitching under my hand. "Trust me."

It took me a moment of iron will to remove my hand from her, but I did it.

I looked at Krieg. "I'll set some traps. And I made some...calibrations...to this rifle. It can punch through a tank, now."

"I believe it." He muttered. Then he looked at the compound. "You're taking an awful risk for me, Gerrard."

"Everybody deserves a future." I answered.

"I need you at your best and you're getting philosophical." Krieg grumbled with a smile. "We'll get into position. Give you time to lay those traps."

So, as he and Lena took off, I headed back into the ruins. I had three frag grenades and I had to make them count. The first one I very carefully set up right ahead of where I'd initially be shooting from. I loosened the pin and then dug a hole. I put the grenade down and then found a stick that I was able to push through the ring of the pin. I buried the grenade so that enough of the stick was showing up, then put a rock in front of the stick, to create more force when it was pushed.

I set up a couple more traps like this, before Krieg's voice came over the comm unit.

"We're in position." He informed me.

"Alright." I answered, "Let me get into position, as well."

I went back to the original grenade and, very careful not to hit the rock, got down on my belly. I pushed the rifle into my shoulder, looking out towards the complex. There was a large door there, with a pair of guards up front. Always two guards, with the krogan. I sighted in on the first one, the interface in front of my eye creating a target that instructed me to move to the right just a tiny bit. I took very little time before I pulled the trigger.

With a loud boom, the concussion from the round exiting the chamber blew up a cloud of dust around the front of the weapon. The round tore right through the krogan's torso, punching a large hole through him that tore out his spine on the way out. He crumpled to the ground, a lifeless heap. The second krogan jerked towards his fellow krogan instinctively, then thought better of it and brought out his pistol. He scanned for me, but I was well hidden at my position.

I fired again, the round simply making his head disappear. At first it was there, then there was a cloud of orange mist and what was left of the krogan simply fell forward.

"Calibrations is right." Krieg grunted. "That rifle's ridiculous."

I still had a round left, as far as my thermal clip was concerned, but I had a moment to reload, so I did exactly that. I wasn't surprised when a bunch of krogan came flooding out of the complex. I counted fifteen of them. I grimaced to myself. This was going to get rough.

I saw a problem, though. There was a lot of cover around the entrance to the complex. If I started picking them off now, they'd probably just get into cover to make it a lot harder or simply go back into the complex and wait there. I needed them to come to me.

Only one way to do that: Piss 'em off.

"Hey!" I yelled, standing up and waving at them "Hey!"

The krogan all turned to look at me, surprised that it was only a human that had made such short work of their two guards.

"What are you doing?" Lena hissed through the comms unit.

"You ugly sons of bitches!" I yelled, "I'm gonna make the Genophage look like a sneeze when I'm finished with you! I'm gonna find your sons and your daughters and make what I did to your two guards look like a massage! Look at you bunch of pussies, milling about all confused and weak like a bunch of whiny lost quarians!"

"You know we can hear everything you're saying?" Lena growled indignantly. Krieg was trying and failing to suppress a laugh, from what it sounded like.

It had the desired effect, though. I imagined that all of the krogan saw red as they turned to me as one and began sprinting my way.

"Well that did it." Krieg laughed as I got back down into my firing position. I might be able to take out a few before I had to retreat.

I sighted down the scope at a horde of charging krogan and realized something.

"It's not looking like such a good idea, now that they're charging at me." I admitted. I fired and managed to blow the leg off of a charging krogan.

_No survivors._ I thought to myself, finishing him with a round to the side while he was on the ground. They were within a thousand meters, now. I didn't have much time and I didn't want them getting too close and just end up chasing me instead of playing hide and seek. So I sighted in on another krogan and blew a hole through his torso that dropped him before getting up and running back into the ruins. I put the rifle on my back, mentally noting that I needed to name it before I pulled out the Phalanx.

I raced forward and turned a left, putting me further into the maze. I abruptly realized, as I heard the concussive boom as the first krogan hit the grenade and my former position, that I was lost.

"Shit." I muttered to myself.

"We're inside." Krieg told me, "You know the best part of your little rant?"

"What?" I asked distractedly, reaching a three way intersection and hanging a right. I turned another corner and ended up at a four way. I kept jogging down that way and looked at the end. At the next turn, there were a bunch of little intersections and outcroppings I could quickly get lost in. I turned and reloaded the rifle. I could pick off a couple here.

"Lena got a recording of all that." he said, "You're going to be quite the celebrity on the Peacemaker."

I groaned and took a knee, setting the front end of the rifle on a piece of steel that used to be part of this building. I heard another explosion far out to my left.

"Dammit!" a krogan yelled, "This is a trap! Everyone group up into threes! We'll get nowhere if we try to take this sniper on individually!"

A krogan came around the far corner, about 100 meters away from me. He saw me, but there was nothing he could do as I fired two rounds into him as quickly as I could. He dropped and I got up, entering the network of turns and intersections.

"We're almost to Akas." Krieg informed me, "We'll be taking a quick detour to wipe out their security logs after that. Five minutes, max, until we're there. How're you holding up?"

"I've taken out four of them with the rifle, and they've stumbled on two grenades." I reported, "A definite four casualties, a possible six casualties. They've gotten smart, though. They're grouping up, so I can't just pick them off one by one."

"Damn." he grunted. "We'll be out there as soon as we can. See what you can do about thinning them out."

"I can't promise anything." I told him, glancing around a corner. It was clear, making me feel secure enough to move up.

"I know."

Another explosion, followed by:

"By the Ancestors, I will end this miserable fucking human!"

I couldn't help myself.

"I'm right over here, buddy!"

I heard a roar of anger.

"Find him!" The krogan yelled. Clearly, whoever he was, he was their leader.

"Great," I muttered to the comms unit, "I just pissed them off more."

"You're doing good." Krieg assured me. "For a human, anyways. I'd have finished em, by now."

I grinned and rushed to another corner, finding a ledge that was probably part of the second story of this structure. I reached up and pulled myself up over it, feeling stiffness in my shoulder as I did so. I decided that while this position increased the chance someone would find me, I could also figure out where everyone was. I reloaded as smoothly as I could, then surveyed the area. There were three groups wandering around the maze of rubble and ruins. Two of them were close, one was not. I decided to try my luck on the krogan group in the distance. I took a knee.

"Alright, I found Akas and my daughter." Krieg said, his voice a myriad of conflicting emotions. "She gave birth while we were on the way here. We're heading up to the security station, then we'll be out there to help. How're you?"

"Nine krogan left." I told him, then fired at the far group. One of the krogan dropped, nothing where his head used to be. "Scratch that, eight."

I fired again.

"I'm sorry," I told him as I watched the krogan slide down the wall, leaving a trail of orange blood. "Did I say eight? I meant to say seven."

Krieg laughed.

"That's what I like to hear!" He yelled, "Keep it up."

There was a whine and I turned right just in in time to see a rocket headed my way. I rolled off of the second story quickly and it exploded above me as I fell. I managed to catch myself on my feet, but I landed wrong and felt a sharp pain in my leg.

"God dammit." I muttered, "They have a rocket launcher. It's not fair."

"We're at the security center." Krieg told me.

"Hurry, Krieg." I advised him, trying to put weight on the leg. The limb wasn't having it. I hobbled around a corner and was lucky enough to find the area in front of me a complete jumble of rubble and rocks. I could easily get lost here, which was exactly my plan. I started taking turns and corners, with no idea where I was going. "They fired a rocket at me and I'm pretty sure I broke my leg on the landing."

"I'm trying." Lena said, sounding panicked. "Hang in there, Henry."

"I'm doing what I can." I assured her, pulling out the Phalanx again. That's when I got unlucky and ran afoul of the last krogan from the group I'd been shooting from the second story. What was worse was that he was only twenty meters away. He caught sight of me and roared, charging at me. I lifted the pistol and started firing, standing my ground. I got maybe six shots off into his face before one finally penetrated, sending orange blood spraying everywhere. My seventh shot embedded itself in his brain, killing him. That didn't stop his body from moving due to sheer inertia, though. He hit me on the side and I was slammed back into the wall behind me.

I felt, more than heard, the rib crack. I groaned, but was still able to push off the wall and hobble around the next corner. Mercifully, it was clear.

"Where the hell are you, coward!?" I heard the leader exclaim somewhere out to my left.

"We're outside and headed your way, Gerrard." Krieg said. "Are you still alive out there?"

"Barely." I told him, "I got charged."

"Did you kill him?"

"I stood my ground, of course." I informed him, "But it cost me. The rest might have to be yours."

"Six, right?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"We'll try to reach you, first." Krieg answered.

Sure enough, I heard gunfire nearby. I heard the telltale sound of the Claymore firing, as well as Lena's Katana. I also heard a pistol in the mix. I idly wondered who was using the pistol, when I came around the corner and found out.

Lena and Krieg stood victoriously over a trio of krogan, shotguns still smoking. Behind them was a krogan who was nearly completely masked in a sort of blue cloth, with orange eyes staring around. She had a little wrapped up bundle in one arm. She was the first to spot me.

"Krieg." Akas said in a raspy voice, pointing my way. "Is that him?"

I dragged myself over as Krieg turned and spotted me.

"Gerrard." He growled, grinning. "I knew you wouldn't let me down."

"Don't get to excited yet." I warned him, "The leader and two of his goons are still in here."

"And we'll make short work of them." Lena assured me, walking towards me She thrust a hand out and gave me a rough shove. "You need to stay out of this fight now, you bosh'tet."

"Is that your daughter?" I asked, pointing at the bundle in Akas' arm so I wouldn't have to answer whatever Lena had just done. Raising the arm caused my rib to shift, nearly taking the breath out of me.

"That it is." Krieg answered, grinning proudly. "Bikir, we're thinking."

I looked down at the baby. It looked...well, exactly like a miniature Krieg. I reached for her, but then looked up at Akas in askance. She watched me warily for a moment, then nodded. I reached out and tickled the little krogan baby with a finger. The baby squeaked in delight, then she reached her stubby arms out and wrapped around my finger with a surprisingly strong three-fingered grip.

"Yep." I confirmed aloud, drawing the attention of Krieg and Lena. "She's ugly."

Akas looked angry, but Krieg just laughed.

"I'm glad I could help." I told Krieg and Akas, "Now let's finish them and get out of here."

Krieg paced forward, with Lena right behind him. I followed behind.

"Why are you helping us?" Akas asked quietly, her voice rasping.

"He's helped us." I replied, "Besides, the krogan need all the hope they can get, now. What kind of man would I be to not help a comrade's daughter when I could?"

She went silent, then gasped when the wall next to Krieg exploded outward. The leader, a krogan nearly as big as Krieg, charged forward and slammed into Krieg. The two went to the ground, fighting. A pair of krogan followed through the hole. Lena engaged the first one and I began to fire at the third. To my surprise, Akas raised a pistol, too. She began firing and the between the two of us, the krogan didn't even have time to turn before he went down, riddled with holes. I looked and saw the second krogan. He'd knocked Lena down and had his foot pressed against her stomach. He was pointing the shotgun at her faceplate, a leer on his face.

I had to get there, now. There was no time to shoot, no time to do anything but get him away from her.

I had to get there.

_NOW!_

I felt a splitting pain in my head as I started moving, too fast to even be sprinting. I saw a blue biotic field emanating from me as I roared and slammed into the krogan, who was knocked to the ground. I felt the rib break even further, the agony nearly dropping me. The action had exhausted me, though. I fell to the ground past the krogan. I saw Lena recover her shotgun quickly enough and fire a pair of blasts into the krogan, who went still. I glanced around just in time to see Krieg place his shotgun under the leader's chin and pull the trigger, shredding the big krogan's head.

I tried to get up, but I simply didn't have the energy to.

"Henry!" Lena yelled, kneeling down next to me, "Are you alright?"

"Did he just do a biotic charge?" Krieg asked, his grinning face appearing in my view. "Damn. With no training, a broken rib and just an implant, that must've hurt like hell."

"Let's get him up." Akas said, "We need to get back, now."

"You're right." Krieg muttered. He reached down and bodily pulled me up. He placed a shoulder under mine while Lena slipped under the other shoulder. I felt so embarrassed, being strung up between the two like this.

It was a quiet trip to the shuttle, where I was propped up against the wall in a seated position. As Lena settled into the pilot's chair, I looked up at Krieg. He closed the door behind Akas as I spoke.

"I don't think I'll be joining you when you meet your clan." I told him, "If it's all the same to you."

"Don't worry about it." Krieg said, chuckling. "Get some rest, you spineless sharpshooter."

I laughed, then immediately regretted it when a sharp bolt of pain lanced through me.

"Make sure you get yourself a bottle of Ryncol while you're down there." I told him. "Roluck and I have a celebration planned when we get back and you're invited."

With that, I fell into a blissful sleep.

_**STT Zeta**_  
_**Captain Elura Unami - Asari, Commando**_  
_**Lieutenant Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Lena'Zuril Vas Uline - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Mercenary**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Pilot**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew**_


	14. Chapter 14

I'd woken up almost six hours later. Krieg had apparently dragged me from the shuttle and up to the medbay. I hadn't been unconscious, just...very sleepy. Krieg told me that he'd managed to get Akas a space of her own with Urdnot, who were delighted to have another child in their midst. He'd gotten in contact with their warlord, a krogan named Wrex, and given him the news. This Wrex had apparently made Krieg third in command of the Clan, a ceremonial gesture, really. Also, to my interest, I found out that this Wrex was travelling with Commander Shepard. I guess all of the special forces got an Urdnot, these days.

I had received quite the tongue-lashing from Elura when I'd come to. She'd harped on my unnecessary risk taking and using my biotics. Roluck was right, she had become very bitchy as of late. Still, she patched me up enough that I could get around and then sternly told me I'd be sitting out the next mission if there was combat involved. I'd run into Roluck on the way down here and he'd indicated that he was working on something he'd need my help with. Before I could get anymore out of him, he ran off. Following this, I'd sent a report off to Captain Anderson about the Old Machines, like I'd promised. Now I was back down at my weapons bench. I had a new project: My armor. I had finally figured out how to make shield generators and wanted to make one for my own armor.

It was while I was working on the generator that she came down.

"Hey, Henry." Lena greeted nervously. I looked up to find her standing at the door to the elevator, holding something in her hands. She looked anxious.

"Hey, Lena." I replied, looking back down at my work. I felt very awkward. The PDA was in my pocket, the message just waiting for me to work up the nerve to send it.

"How are you?" She asked, "I know you took a beating down there."

Her voice sounded strange. She sounded very hesitant and extremely uncomfortable.

_Dammit._ I mused, _I won't be able to send that message for at least another few hours. It'd look so weak if I sent it to her right after we finished speakin_g.

"Fine." I told her, "The damage will take a week or so to heal, with the injections that Elura has me on. I'll be sitting out the next mission, but I'm not exactly sulking over that. So what's up?"

She didn't answer immediately, shifting from foot to foot. I wondered what was going on with her, but figured it'd come out on its own.

_I've never seen her this anxious._I realized.

It was true. Lena, from what I was able to tell, was a very proud and confident woman who didn't accept help from anybody. To see her shifting around like this was highly irregular.

"My people are very insular." She said quietly, "Other species, especially pushy ones like turians and humans, are seen as detrimental to our society, if they get involved. Quarians getting involved with outsider...problems...typically leads us to become outcast from society"

"Your Admiralty Board sent you here." I told her dubiously, not sure exactly what she was driving at, "I doubt they'd send you here and then push you away when you got back."

"Right." She said, sounding frustrated. Clearly, she had gotten the wrong answer to her question or hadn't meant to ask about that at all. She only had half of my attention, as focused as I was on this project. "It's just that I'm afraid of what's going to happen when I get back to the Flotilla."

"Assuming we survive this," I said, pushing the two sides of the casing together, "You'll be a hero. I'm sure you'll be accepted back with open arms. Why are you asking?"

"Because that's-it's what...it's not the only thing I'm worried about," She stammered, "when I get back to the Flotilla I mean."

"What else is the problem?" I asked, finally deciding to tear myself away from the shield generator and look up at her.

"Well..." She started, "I was talking to Allison earlier about humans and how your society works and she mentioned that you had no idea what I looked like. She mentioned that you said I probably looked turian."

"I don't remember saying that." I muttered. This was all Allison. She was trying to push Lena at me. I reminded myself to either space her or thank her. I appreciated whatever she was trying to do, but this was not something for her to meddle it.

"We really don't." Lena explained, still wringing her hands anxiously. "If anything, we look more human than the asari do. We even have hair."

"Well I figured tha-"

"It's very...unusual." She continued, "To show yourself to another species. Even more so taking your suit off, which would be like linking environments between quarians. A bit of sickness for the first few times, then we'd adapt."

_Just what in the hell did Allison say to her?_

"You don't have to explain yourself, Lena." I told her, smiling "Different cultures do different things. None of us are angry with you because you won't take off your ma-"

"I...I got something for you." She interrupted. I looked down to see what she was holding in her hands. It looked like a picture frame. I stiffened, startled when I realized what she was giving me. Without any further ado, she handed it to me.

The woman in the picture was nothing short of beautiful. Her skin was pale and purple, with long black hair dropping down past her shoulders. There were what looked like black markings on her neck, as well as on her forehead. A thin jaw ran down to a small chin, with small pouting lips to complete it. A cute nose ran down from thin black eyebrows and silver eyes. Her ears were thin and attached closer to her jaw, rather than further up like humans. Every feature was so completely unexpected of the woman before me.

_She's incredible._Was the only thought my stunned mind could come up with. I'd suspected (Mostly due to the rather tight-fitting suit and the vague outlines behind the mask), that quarians probably looked human(ish), but I'd had no idea.

I was speechless. I looked up at Lena as she continued to wring her hands nervously. I'd never seen her this nervous. I felt my heart pounding hard as she clearly mistook my expression for something negative. Her shoulders started to slump and she shifted back a step, almost being combative.

"Nobody knows what we look like under these masks." She explained hastily. "I...thought you should know. I actually find humans attractive, you know. You especially. I think it started when you protected me from that shrapnel on Omega, but I'm not really sure. When Shields mentioned that you thought quarians looked like turians, I kinda got worried.. I-I-I don't know why I felt like I should show you this, I think I'm just being an idiot."

Allison. She'd engineered this whole confrontation. I still couldn't find anything to say, sure that the speed with which my heart was beating would drop me on the spot. Lena had stopped wringing her hands and her head was bent low in what I would approximate as shame.

"You don't like..." She started, "I don't look..."

She trailed off as I tried to summon up words. Or something. Anything to stop this from going wrong. She finally dropped her hands and stood straight and even though her words were strong, I could sense that she was utterly crushed.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant." She replied, the strong words betrayed by an unvoiced and checked misery, "This was stupid of me. I'll go."

She turned to leave, her head held high. I had enough cognitive processes left to reach out and lightly grab her by the wrist. She turned back to me as I put the picture down and pulled the PDA out of my pocket. I silently switched it to the messages I'd been holding onto for the last hour. I handed it to her.

"I wrote this before Tuchunka." I explained. She looked down at it and silently began to read. When she looked up at me, her glowing eyes had widened behind the mask.

"Henry." She breathed, right before I put my arms around her and pulled her into a gentle embrace. I don't think either her or my ribs could stand a bear hug. I felt her arms wrap around me, as well. We just stood there forever, holding each other. I felt so indescribably happy.

It was a strange feeling. In my life, due to the nature of colony worlds, I'd never been around people for more than a year. There had been women here and there, but never anything that felt so intimate. This...though...this was different. I quietly promised myself that this would be different.

_And with an alien, no less._The thought kind of lingered at the back of my mind.

_I guess you find someone to care about where you can._

I heard a little bit of a sob from Lena and felt her body jerk in the slightest. She was...crying?

"Are you okay?" I asked, still clinging to her. I certainly hadn't expected tears from a woman like her.

_This must've been weighing on her pretty heavily._My scrambled mind managed to observe.

"I just...there's never been anybody." She explained quietly, "I've always been the strong one, but I'm so new to this. I've never even mate...Keelah, I've never spent longer than four months anywhere, even as a child."

"I know we can't...you know." I muttered, rubbing her back slowly, "But I don't care."

"I'll find a way to make it work." She declared quietly, "I have to."

"It'll be alright." I promised. "Even if it can't work, it doesn't matter to me."

I felt her breathing quickening under my arms, as I slowly rubbed a hand down her suited back. This was immediately followed by a frustrated groan.

"This damn mask." She mumbled.

The moment was abruptly spoiled when I heard the door open and we both looked over to find Roluck and Krieg standing in the elevator. Both of them were utterly speechless at the scene before them. There was a long moment of incredibly awkward silence. Roluck made the first move.

He turned to Krieg and held out a claw. I recognized the arrangement of his mandibles as a turian grin.

"You need to stick to killing shit, Krieg." He told the krogan, "Two hundred credits, now."

"Dammit." the krogan grumbled as they stepped out of the elevator. I reluctantly released Lena as Krieg began typing on his omni-tool. "I was so sure it'd be the pilot."

"You-you were betting?" Lena sputtered.

"Not much else to do on this ship." Roluck said, "I'm happy for you two, though. A few of us seemed to have it figured out. Krieg, of course, was not one of them."

"I-" Lena started, clearly embarrassed at the unprofessional display.

"We have some drinking to do because we seem to have an abundance of things to celebrate." Roluck told me, looking up. "You and Lena, your promotion, Bikir."

Krieg grinned and slapped the turian on the back. It was a heartwarming scene, really, seeing as krogan and turian were typically the worst of enemies.

_That's what this team is about._ I realized. _Sure, we put bullets through heads when it's needed, but we're really trying to bring this galaxy together._

On the tail end of that thought:

_I better not say that aloud, or Krieg will almost definitely imply or outright say that I'm a pussy._

"And-" Roluck continued, his expression a little more serious. "I have a request for the three of you. It's a mission and I'm pretty sure these things go easier with a little alcohol."

"I've got that scotch you gave me." I said, laughing as I pulled the bottle out from under my workbench.

"I've got the Ryncol." Krieg grunted, hefting a very large blue and green bottle.

"And I've got turian brandy." Roluck said. I saw Lena perk up and Roluck gave his version of a smile. "Yes, distilled enough for you, Lena."

"Alcoholic consumption is pretty much banned on the Fleet." She pointed out, "But not on an alien ship."

"Let's head up to the lounge."

The lounge was near crew berthing, on the same deck. It was a small area. cushioned seats lined the walls and a giant table was set in the middle. Outside, we could see the Mass Relay slowly fading out of view. When I looked around, I was surprised to find a couple of the quarians hanging out in a corner. Lena tensed up a little bit.

"Relax." I muttered to her, grabbing her by the hand. "They're going to find out eventually. Better sooner than later."

She was still tense, but managed to force herself to sit next to me, her hand still in mine. I noticed one of the quarians point us out to the other one. They both stared for a few seconds, until Lena looked at them. They looked away, but continued their socialization. That was pretty much the extent of it.

I was doubly surprised when Allison walked in the door.

"Should our pilot be drinking?" I asked as Krieg and Roluck sat down across from us. Allison sat next to Roluck, what could only be described as a shit-eating grin on her face as she looked at me. Specifically, she was looking at the contact between Lena and I.

"I'm not having a drink." She assured me, "Just heard there was a gathering over here and wanted to join 's on autopilot for now. We're just heading to the Citadel to pick something up for Elura, then we're heading back out."

"Ah." Roluck said. "Well-"

He pulled out a long brown cylindrical bottle. Following that, he dug in his pocket and pulled out a plastic cup and a straw sealed in an airtight bag. He handed both of them to Lena, then poured the brandy in her cup. She played with the straw as she sat back, looking at me. I twisted the cap off of my scotch as Krieg broke open his bottle of Ryncol. Allison grudgingly poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher on the table.

"Here's to our new Staff Sergeant." Lena toasted. We all took a sip and I'd be damned if this was not the best scotch I'd ever had. I sighed blissfully as I sat back on the couch.

"Here's to you and Lena." Allison said, raising her glass of water. "To prove that even blatant stupidity can be beaten by a skillfully crafted lie."

We all took another sip. I glanced over to find the quarians staring at us again. I didn't particularly find myself caring. I wasn't in their chain of command, so it wasn't like I'd be disrupting their work.

"Wait," Lena said, "So you never told her you thought quarians looked like turians?"

"No." I told her, "She just made all that shit up, I'm sure. I never even mentioned you, save for that message she inadvertently saw."

"You...you conniving bosh'tet." Lena told her, not sounding the slightest bit angry.

"I'd gotten nosy and found the datapad." Allison said with a grin. "I thought, since both of you were too adorably awkward to say anything, that I'd try to force the issue. Obviously, it worked."

"Here's to Bikir and beating the odds." Roluck acknowledged with a nod to Krieg. We all took another sip.

"Lastly," Krieg started. I wondered just what the hell he was about to toast, "here's to me and being the biggest badass on the ship."

We all laughed and took another sip. We all sat back, content and peaceful for the first time in a month.

"Seriously," Krieg said, "I hate this sensitive shit, but you've all been a real standup group. I couldn't have saved my daughter without you all."

"Mostly me." Roluck agreed.

"You weren't even there!" Lena argued. Roluck just started chuckling. The other two quarians walked out the door, apparently finished with their relaxation.

"So what did you want to ask us for?" I inquired of Roluck as I took another sip of the scotch. "If I need to shoot someone, I don't exactly have permission from the boss."

"You might need to shoot someone." He hedged, looking disturbed, "But only one person. If everything goes right."

"What's going on?" I asked.

"You know I didn't see any action when I was with the Blackwatch." He said, "A group known famously for seeing a lot of action. There was a reason for that."

He sighed and brought his unoccupied arm over the couch as he took another pull from the bottle.

"It was when I was in the 43rd Marine Division." He said. "I was with the Sixth Platoon, a platoon well known throughout the Division for close-quarters combat. I think I was only one of three soldiers who used anything that had a mid-range to it."

He sighed and started to bring the bottle to his mouth, but Allison wrapped a hand around the bottle. He looked at her for a moment, anger in his eyes, then his expression softened.

"Yeah," He said, nodding. "Need to stay focused for this next mission. Anyways, we were sent to scout out a new species that had been rumored to be on A329. It was a big planet, but due to its toxicity, nobody went near it. Since someone claimed to have seen a new species there and it was actually within the Apien Crest, we went to check it out."

I took a sip. He looked around and made sure he had everyone's attention before continuing.

"We had environmental suits, filters, everything we needed." He said, gazing out the window and into the stars. "Forty-five men went down there. We found out that this 'new species' was a colony of Rachni who'd been trapped there."

"Rachni?" I wondered.

"Yeah." Krieg cut in, "A species of aliens that look like giant bugs. We were uplifted by the salarians to fight them a couple thousand years ago."

"And they'd survived that long?" I wondered.

"They bred, I imagine." Roluck shrugged. "Anyways, we were overrun. The Rachni had, by some sort of adaptation to the planet, developed some sort of super-poison that would kill us on contact. Most of the platoon was wiped out in the initial assault, but I managed to save a few of my squad. We were able to infiltrate their colony and detonate a bomb big enough to exterminate them all. My men were taken and I assumed they were killed. I was the only one who made it back to the ship. I destroyed the Rachni there and got back to the Hierarchy."

"Christ." Allison muttered.

"You were a survivor." I continued.

"Yeah." He answered, nodding, "One thing about turians, we're not a superstitious bunch, but survivors like me are seen as bad luck to a unit. Obviously, your species feels different on the subject. Still, they awarded me with the Star of Palaven, one of our highest decorations. I had a colonel named Victus who fought like hell to get me into the Blackwatch."

"But when you got in, they sat you at a desk." Krieg grunted.

"Not exactly," He said, "But close enough. After a time with that, I requested a transfer to the STT, so I could represent my people and see some action."

Roluck looked me dead in the eyes. I could see a hell of a lot of loss and suffering behind his eyes. I knew the feeling.

"So believe me, Henry, when I tell you that I understand what you went through on Eden Prime."

There was a long silence, then I asked, "So what do you need our help with?"

"Have you heard of Cerberus?" He asked.

Despite my general ignorance of the galaxy at large, everybody had heard of Cerberus. They were a human-first organization and were surprisingly powerful, considering they were what amounted to terrorists.

"Yeah." I told him. "Human central idealists. And terrorists."

"That'd be them." He replied, nodding. "It turns out that one of my men wasn't killed on A329. I got a tip off from a buddy of mine at C-Sec by the name of Vakarian. He ran across some information about a PFC Krylin who was on my fire team. According to the reports he'd found in a Cerberus database, she'd wandered off the planet, delirious, a week later. Cerberus picked her up and had been keeping her alive so that they can figure out how to reverse-engineer that poison. Apparently, she's been kept in cryo until now."

"And you want to get her." I concluded.

"You're damn right I do. She was one of my squad." He answered steadily. "I want to get in there and destroy that facility. I need you, specifically. I've crafted a very impressive resume of your actions against alien forces, your activism in certain groups and even paid a few people to be references if Cerberus calls. These guys like to set up meetings immediately, so all I have to do is send it to the facility and mention you're in the area. We'll loiter until we get an answer and bring you down. You shoot whoever you need to and get us in there. We will do all the combat and you just keep up with us. I already ran it by Elura and she's fine with it."

There was a silence, then I asked:

"Where is it?"

He smiled.

"It's a small facility on Horizon." He answered. I stiffened up involuntarily. There was only one reason I remembered that place. My mind wandered right on to Elizabeth.

"Roluck." Lena hissed.

"Wha-oh...yeah."

When I snapped back to reality, I looked up at Roluck.

"It won't be an issue." I told him.

"What's your problem?" Krieg wondered, gazing at me.

"Had a sister that died there." I answered concisely.

"That's rough." He muttered. "Anyways, I'm with you too, Roluck. Raiding the secret laboratory of a bunch of racists sounds like fun to me."

"Thanks." He replied, looking around. "It'll be nice to kick those Cerberus assholes right where they need to be kicked. Once we jump into the system, should take about an hour to get there. Errahe and Elura are already on board."

"You know what?" I said, looking at what was left in my glass and wrapping an arm around Lena's shoulders, "Fuck it."

I raised my glass. "Here's to us. STT Zeta and the Peacemaker, making things right in the galaxy."

"You people are too damn soft." Krieg grumbled, toasting nevertheless.

___**STT Zeta**_  
_**Captain Elura Unami - Asari, Commando**_  
_**Lieutenant Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Lena'Zuril Vas Uline - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Mercenary**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Pilot**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew**_


	15. Chapter 15

I, like the rest of the STT, was waiting. I'd had Roluck send the packet and now we were in orbit over Horizon, just awaiting an answer. Lena had gone to get ready and in the meantime, I'd decided that while I was very worried over what the reaction would be, I should break the news to my mother and father soon. It would probably be best to break it to them in person, so I asked dad about possibly taking a day off tomorrow and bringing mom up to meet someone. I was still waiting on the answer.

Within twenty minutes of sending the message to the Cerberus facility, my omni-tool lit up and told me I'd received a message. The rest of the crew in the shuttle bay perked up.

"It's just my dad." I told them. I heard disappointed sounds from all of them.

_Glad to hear it, Henry._ The message said,_ I was going to ask if you wanted to see your mother anyways. Citadel tomorrow? And do I happen to know this woman?_

_Yes._ I typed back_. You met her last time I was on the Citadel. Can't get into it now, waiting for something._

I sent it and was about to shut off the omni-tool when there was another message. This one from an encrypted number.

"Oh, here we go." I announced, reading the message and memorizing the passcode they gave me. "They want to meet me as soon as possible. What would our ETA be in the shuttle?"

"About five minutes." Allison announced over the speakers. "Maybe it'd be better if I piloted the shuttle and let Errahe take the controls up here."

"Would be odd to see another species piloting shuttle of racist terrorist." Errahe agreed.

"Yes." Elura said, nodding. "It would be much better that way."

"On my way down." Allison said. Errahe went to the elevator and waited. When Allison appeared a couple minutes later, he switched places with her in the elevator.

"Alright, Gerrard, let's go." She said, stepping into the shuttle. I followed her in. I took a look at Lena, who was chatting with Roluck with arms folded. She glanced at me and nodded.

"Don't worry." I told everyone, "I'll have their defenses down in no time."

I was fully armed, like I would be in any mission. These people needed to believe that I was a no-shit bad ass who wanted to work security for them. I'd done a little bit of research on the resume Roluck had written up for me. It looked solid enough and I'd done enough brushing up on the extranet to speak to some of the references. I probably wouldn't have to talk too long, though. When I finished the talking part, Lena had uploaded a couple walkthroughs on my visor to help me lock the base down and disable the defenses.

I gingerly strapped myself into the seat at the back of the transport. I couldn't sit up front; that wasn't a very mercenary thing to do.

"So how do you think this thing with Lena's going to work out?" She asked as she piloted the shuttle right out of the bay.

"I'm hoping it'll work out fine." I confided. "This is new to both of us and we both want it to work. I know my parents aren't xenophobes, but this is different. Not that I particularly need their permission, but it'd be nice, y'know? As for Lena's family, she mentioned that her mother and father were Captains, which makes them strict traditionalists. So we'll see how that goes."

"For what it's worth," Allison said, "I'm glad you guys got it figured out. She's loosened up a lot since when I got on board. I think you have a lot to do with that."

"Which reminds me." I said as we skimmed over the plains and green fields of Horizon, "I owe you a beer, sometime."

"I also accept bourbon." She notified me. I chuckled, shaking my head. This woman was a handful.

Then again, I said, it works for her.

"How're you doing with the Peacemaker?" I asked.

"I love her." Allison replied with a grin, "She's the nicest girl I've ever met. I'd love to ramp her up to full speed and see what happens, but there hasn't been an occasion yet."

"I'm sure there will be, eventually." I told her glumly.

"You don't sound excited." She noted.

"I'm excited to see the Peacemaker do her thing." I told Allison. "I'm not so excited about the circumstances that will precede that."

"True enough," She said, "But I bet we-"

"This is Landing Station 861." A woman's severe voice announced over the speakers. "This is restricted airspace. Please redirect your course to seventy-five degrees and continue for three miles before returning to your present course."

"Humanity has nothing to fear but to lose its humanity." I announced into the microphone.

"Identify yourself."

Cerberus are certainly a friendly bunch.

"Adrien Takun." I replied, "Here about a job."

"Please direct yourself to the landing pad exactly 2 kilometers north of your position." The same voice said, "There will be someone to direct you to me."

"Acknowledged." I said, then looked at Allison as I turned off the microphone.

"I want you out of here fast when I get in there." I told her. I took my pistol off 'safe' and adjusted the holster so that it merely appeared that the pistol was strapped in. "I don't plan on sticking to the story very long. I do plan on using the bathroom first, to give you all some extra time. But make sure the shuttle is standing by near where we got called. I'm not in any condition for an epic one-man stand, here."

"You got it." She laughed. I opened the shuttle door as we descended to find myself landing in a complex of small buildings that were all connected to a medium-sized building in the center. I estimated the entire complex to be a mile and a half in diameter, tops.

We touched down on the landing pad and I stepped out of the transport.

Funny to think, the last time I'd been here had been for the death of my sister. Now, I was here to assist in the destruction of an extremist organization's facilities. This paradise of a planet was not a happy place, for me.

_I just need to retire somewhere._

It was hard to remember the misery that accompanied this planet, though. As I looked out across the world, all I saw was green and small settlements. The sun shone brightly and I could smell the heady scent of plant life everywhere. This place was a paradise. A paradise with horrible memories.

Waiting for me was a Cerberus trooper. The guy was pretty big, with bulky white and gold armor and a black visor. He carried an assault rifle, so I was sure he'd be going first when I started shooting. I could only hope that he wasn't in the same room as me when I took over.

"That way, sir." He directed, pointing towards the central building. I started walking and he fell in right behind me. I ignored his presence and walked into the building as Allison took off.

There was a lobby area and that was about all that was visible. Everything else was behind a door. No hallways leading to other parts of the building, definitely no 'open floor' plan. A pretty cute-looking woman was sitting at the front desk. She glanced up as I approached, but the trooper point to a room on our right.

"Sorry to ask," I said, turning to the trooper, "But there are no bathrooms on that shuttle."

The trooper wordlessly pointed to another door. I walked in and took my sweet damn time going to the bathroom, before I came out to find the trooper waiting for me. He gestured to the door he was trying to walk me through before.

When the door opened, I found myself in the perfect room to hole up in. There was no window, only one way in (the way I'd come in) and the desk was across from the door, which was also perfect. There were two chairs in front of a rather strict-looking woman in a Cerberus scientist uniform. The first chair was directly in front of the desk while the other was in the corner, behind the first chair.

"Mister Takun." She said, gesturing to the seat in front of her, "Please be seated."

I took the seat in front of me as the trooper closed the door and sat in the chair in the corner. I tried not to over-scrutinize anything. The woman's hands were both on the desk, meaning she wasn't holding a gun below the desk. I could see the reflection of the trooper behind me. He was at ease, the rifle pointed at the floor and hanging from a single hand.

_He still has to go first._ I reasoned. _Now, time to put them at ease._

"So Mr Takun." The woman started, "I'm Security Chief Bailey Short. You're applying for a security job here, correct?"

"Yes Ma'am." I answered.

"What are your qualifications?"

"I'm a very staunch advocate of human rights on a galactic scale." I informed her, "I've spent three years in the Alliance on constant pirate patrol. I saw so much political pandering to a bunch of aliens that couldn't care less about any interests but their own. So when I got out, I became a merc for a few years."

I saw a slow smile on the woman's face. She was eating this up. I felt a little disgusted by the words coming out of my mouth, even knowing that I was lying my ass off. I figured that I'd been here for about six minutes. Which meant that Allison was already back and the next team is on the way. I settled my feet on the ground.

"You already sound like you'd be a good fit here." She said, "Where are you from?"

"Well I came from a small colony world called Tiptree." I started, "You know how many aliens can screw over an entire colony? One. There was one asari who came to that world and we suddenly found ourselves neck deep in sanctions and trade wars and-"

Then I reached for my pistol and stood at the same time. Better to catch them off guard in the middle of my sentence during a long-winded speech. Everyone was more relaxed, then. I had to be fast, had to be fluid. The pistol was not holstered, making it easy to pull. As I stood, I twisted and looked down my arm to find the trooper already bringing his assault rifle up. He was fast, I'd give him that. He wasn't fast enough, though.

I fired and sent a round through his chest. On the second shot, the round blew a hole in his head. I turned back around to find the woman shocked, still having not reacted to what had just happened in the space of a couple seconds. Once again, there was no time for finesse or kindness. I fired again, pushing three rounds into her chest.

I thought I'd feel guilty, but was surprised to find that I barely registered an emotion. She was the enemy, one of those who'd been holding a sick soldier here and experimenting on her until she either died or was killed.

"I'm clear." I muttered into my earpiece. I came around to the other side of the terminal she'd been on and opened up the little walkthroughs on the visor. I had to move fast. I began typing, following the instructions exactly. Within moments, a metallic sound from inside the door informed me that it'd been locked down. "And I'm secure. Taking down the air defenses now."

I followed the second set of instructions as well, typing away on the computer until I heard alarms sounding. I read a little warning on the computer.

"Well," I said, "Good news and bad news."

"What?" Elura asked over the comms unit.

"Good news is the air defenses are down. The bad news is that doing so has tripped an alarm. They all know I'm here, now."

"We'll be there in a few minutes." She said, "I doubt they'll be able to tear through the door in three minutes. See what other damage you can do."

"Got it." I told her. Using the instructions I'd already gotten as a base, I managed to find the security cameras. I found the turian. She was lying side by side with an asari. Both of them had been stripped naked.

"That's...nothing I wanted to see." I muttered to myself.

The turian woman was surprisingly similar to the males. She lacked the horns seen on the crest of the head, but other than that, the only noticeable difference was that she was shorter and skinnier. She had brown leathery skin and no facepaint, both of which could probably be blamed on her maltreatment.

The asari was blue, not much to my surprise. She looked older than Elura, though not quite old enough to be a Matriarch. Her form was lithe and pretty voluptuous, but I wasn't particularly concerned with that right now. She was strapped down to a table, just like the turian.

There was some sort of equipment there. I couldn't tell what all of it was, but some of it appeared to be life support machines and I noticed one of those machines that cycled blood between them. There were a pair of scientists there, sterilizing equipment.

"I have eyes on PFC Krylin." I announced.

"Where is she?" Roluck demanded.

"She's being tested on in a lab." I told him. "There's an asari here, too."

"Is there anything you can do?" He wondered.

"Give me a moment."

I looked at all the controls available for that particular room. I found something interesting. I ran a program that indicated it was part of a nerve gas alarm. Suddenly, lights started going off in that room. The scientists panicked and fled the room. I typed in the next string of commands, which allowed me to lock that room. I turned off the alarm, for the convenience of the test subjects.

"I've locked down the room they're in." I told them. "Nobody's getting in unless I let them in."

"We've touched down." Elura said, "Team one is headed to your location."

"Acknowledged." I told her, "PFC Krylin is going to be on the west path. You'll go straight through two rooms and she'll be the in the locked room on your left. I'll unlock it when you give the word."

"I copy." She said.

There were another couple of tense minutes as I watched the video feed outside my door. A few soldiers had gathered and they were starting to bring over explosives. As they began to attach the explosives to the door, however, their bodies suddenly started shaking. They all dropped to the ground. Within seconds, Errahe and Lena appeared in front of my door.

"We're here." Errahe reported.

"Give me a couple minutes." I told him, "I'm still in camera control. I want to see if there's anybody else in the base that's being experimented on."

I started switching through cameras but as I looked, all I saw was rushing soldiers and scientists scrambling around.

"Alright," I said, "Its seems this poison was all that was being tested here. Those two are the only subjects."

"Krylin is not a subject!" Roluck snapped.

"Calm down, Roluck." I tempered, "Last time I checked, I was the first one in and I'm behind this computer helping you out through a couple broken bones."

"Hah!" Krieg laughed.

"Sorry." Roluck apologized, his words punctured by gunfire in the background, "I'm not exactly conversational right now."

"Understood." I answered. "I see you guys coming up at the door. Unlocking now."

I unlocked the door to the lab and watched Roluck rush in and start literally tearing the straps off of the female turian. I was surprised by his strength. There were nearby sheets for the bed and he draped one over her, to preserve her dignity. Meanwhile, Krieg and Elura secured the asari.

"Alright." I said, "Opening the door to the security office."

The door whirred open, allowing Lena and Errahe to walk through. Errahe looked at the two bodies and said, "Don't get it. Were they asleep?"

I laughed as Lena edged me out of the way of the terminal with her hips.

"Let me see what I can do." She muttered, right before she started typing away. "This plant runs on thermal power. If I disable the cooling system, those generators will overload and detonate in a couple minutes."

"Get started on that." Elura said, "We're on our way back to the shuttle. We'll hold Cerberus there."

"Acknowledged." Errahe said. We waited for Lena to stop typing, which took about fifteen seconds. When she was done, she hefted her pistol and fired three rounds into the computer, destroying it.

"We've got two minutes." Lena announced.

"That's more than enough time." Elura assured us. "The shuttle is secure but under fire, right now."

"Understood." Errahe reported. He gestured for us to come out. I walked out and looked at the bodies lying at the door, as well as a couple more throughout the lobby.

"Good work." I said, impressed, as we swept out of the lobby.

It was pretty much a stalemate at the landing pad. Krieg was in the shuttle, clearly not equipped for holding down a position against long range enemies. Elura was firing away with her pistol while Roluck was pretty much forcing all the Cerberus troopers to keep their heads down with his incredibly accurate gunfire.

Errahe and Lena dashed for the shuttle. I was moving at a hobble. I'd managed to pull off a smooth walk in here, but it'd cost me. Still, it only took me thirty seconds to get to the shuttle.

"We're ready!" I yelled. Elura heard me and turned, sprinting for the shuttle. Roluck either did not hear me or did not care. Even though I wasn't overly knowledgeable on turian expressions, I didn't need to be an expert to realize I was looking at an enraged turian.

"Test on my soldiers!?" He yelled, his voice harsh. A trooper stood up and tried to get a bead on him, but received a pair of rounds to the chest for his trouble. Another fell back from cover for a better position and was mercilessly gunned down.

"I said we're ready!" I yelled at him, before grabbing him around the middle and pushing him towards the shuttle. He tore himself away from the battle and climbed inside, with me right behind him. I closed the door and turned to give Roluck a piece of my mind, until I saw him.

He had crouched down over the turian woman, his face lined with worry. He reached down and put a hand on her shoulder. Slowly, as we flew from the facility, the woman opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Roluck.

"Sergeant?" She asked quietly. "You rescued me?"

"I don't leave Marines behind." He said, his mandibles and mouth forming a smile. "You know that."

She looked around and saw the rest of us.

"Wha...what?"

"Quiet." He ordered, his eyes locked on her. "Get some rest now. You can ask questions later."

As she went to sleep, I looked at the asari.

"Anything from her yet?"

"She's recently been issued a sedative." Elura told me, "She won't be awake for a while."

An explosion rocked the shuttle and my back slammed into the wall of the shuttle from the concussion..

"Well." Krieg said as we all recovered, "At least we gave em a good kick in the quad."

___**STT Zeta**_  
_**Captain Elura Unami - Asari, Commando**_  
_**Lieutenant Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Lena'Zuril Vas Uline - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Mercenary**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Pilot**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew**_


	16. Chapter 16

Elura had found the asari's information quick. She was part of the crew of a ship that went down a couple months ago. The crew had all been accounted her, save her. She was the chief medical officer on their ship and nobody had ever found out what happened to her. She still hadn't woken up.

PFC Krylin did wake up, though, after Elura started transferring blood between the turian and a machine to clean it out. I didn't realize, until seeing the machine, that turian blood was blue. I guess I learned something new every day.

Apparently unconcerned with the blood being pushed through her, she opened her eyes and looked around. The whole team was here, waiting for her to wake up. She still looked confused, but not as terrified.

"I had nightmares." She stated, as though it was the first thing we were going to ask.

"I don't doubt it." Roluck said, "You've been in cryo for the last two years. I don't blame you for having nightmares."

"Two years?" She asked, her voice a little stronger and with an edge to it. "And you just came back?"

"I just found out two days ago." He said. "I spent another day trying to find you and the rest of that time convincing the rest of the STT to help me out."

"You're in the STT, now?" She asked. I noticed her voice was a lot lighter than his, though it still had that extra voice behind it that every turian had. That still unnerved me a bit.

"Yeah." He said, "I can tell you about it later. What do you remember?"

"I woke up a couple days ago." She said, "Scientists. They were all virologists. They were figuring out how I was immune to it. Then they were trying to figure out how to get the poison from the rachni over into the rest of the species, so they could create a superweapon of sorts."

"Christ." I muttered. "Chemical warfare at its finest. I need a drink."

"Stop being such a whiny little pyjack." Krieg advised.

"You were the first person I thought of." Krylin said, her green eyes fastened on Roluck. "I knew you survived and I knew if anybody would come get me, it would be my squad leader. The best Sergeant in the whole damn galaxy."

"Ugh." Krieg groaned in disgust. "Now I need a drink."

I snorted, unable to contain myself.

"Perhaps we should leave." Errahe suggested. "Conversation personal in nature and several members feel inclined towards humor. Besides, already at Citadel."

Translation: He wanted to leave before we started hurting people's feelings.

So, we all decided to get on out of their hair. Fringes. Whatever.

When the door closed behind us and everyone else had wandered off, I grabbed Lena by the hand and gently pulled her to me. I only had use of one hand, since the other was curled around a cane that would help me get around the next week. Obviously, I wouldn't be running and gunning within that timeframe. Which meant I was pretty much useless, right now.

"Don't worry." She assured me, amusement in her voice, "I was on my way up to the airlock right now."

"I know." I told her, "I just wanted to tell you...thanks for doing this."

"Mates are introduced immediately to their family-to-be." She said, "I know it's different for humans. From what Allison told me, this is a rather quick step for you."

"You're still taking tips from Allison?" I asked as I hobbled into the elevator.

"Of course." She replied, "She's given me a lot of insight into your culture."

"Just remember, she's Allison." I told Lena. "And I know it's a quick step, but I want to get this out of the way, since I'm worried it will be a point of friction later on down the line."

The elevator door opened and we both emerged, headed for the exit.

"I'm going to get my own go-to guy for quarian culture." I muttered, going for thoughtful. "Maybe Risha. She owes me a favor, after the scuffle when we came here the first time."

"Don't you start messing with my people, Henry." Lena growled playfully. I was surprised how quickly she was learning to pick up on conversational cues and how to joke with the rest of us. I couldn't tell if she was studying or if she had a deep cover Point of Contact like Allison for each species.

"They could use the excitement." I told her as we stepped into yet another elevator that led to C-Sec.

"I'm sure there will be too much excitement, soon enough." Lena said, "The Old Machines are still out there. I heard that the rachni got loose from Noveria, as well. That may be a problem later on."

"Well," I replied, impressed, "look who's paying attention.".

"The rachni and Old Machines concern everybody." Lena explained. "I sometimes wish my people weren't so removed from everything. We're safer, true, but we don't realize how much the galaxy shares the same problems. I'm afraid that, one day, it's going to be a problem."

"That's pretty progressive of you." I noted, walking out of the elevator and into another one. "Speaking of progressive, the Citadel really needs to come up with a better system with these elevators."

"I know." she groaned, "You get in one elevator just so you can get in another."

The door opened and we strode out onto the Presidium. As always, it was beautiful out here. The quiet crystal lakes and beautiful plant life were a stark contrast to the bullets and explosions and bulkhead I'd been basking in for the last week.

"I almost feel bad for these people." I said, looking around.

"I don't see why." Lena grumbled, "They're staring at us."

"Of course they are." I told her offhand, "They're racist. But that's not what I'm talking about. One day, war will come here and these people will not be ready for it. I mean...look at them. It's all politicians and elected police up here. They'll be taken out in the first punch."

"You'd rather the whole Citadel be like the Wards?" She asked.

"No." I admitted. I could see the restaurant dad had mentioned in the distance. I wondered if he'd picked a different one simply so he could grill another manager. "On the other hand, those cops and criminals are far more ready to take on an invading force than the Presidium. But even so, this place lulls people into a false sense of security."

"The Migrant Fleet is the same way." Lena agreed. "We're so busy being concerned about nothing but ourselves that the occasional outside attack becomes a major threat."

"It's -Oh, there they are."

My dad stood tall at a table, having already seen me coming. He was dressed, once again, in his dark blue uniform. He looked me over as I approached, his eyes lingering on the cane.

Mom, however, wasn't as dispassionate. She squealed in delight when her eyes met mine and came running.

Mary Gerrard was about the same age as dad, with shoulder-length wavy black hair that she always used to complain about having to fuss over. Light blue eyes shone in delight and her entire face seemed to be one big smile as she bounded down the steps and threw her arms around me. I winced when her arm closed around the rib.

"Broken rib, mom, broken rib!" I yelled. I noticed that we were drawing eyes from everywhere. I didn't care. They could stare all they want.

"I'm sorry, Henry." She said, letting go but still smiling. She looked next to me. "Who's this?"

"I'm Lieutenant Lena'Zuril vas Iline nar Rayya. Fleet Marines." Lena introduced formally, holding her hand out. Mom stared at it for a moment, then tentatively reached out and shook Lena's three-fingered hand.

"You're...qualien?" She asked uncertainly.

"Quarian." Lena corrected, "I'm part of the STT."

"Sorry I didn't know," Mom said, "I'd never even seen other species until I came here."

"It's alright." Lena replied.

"So how did you injure yourself this time?" Dad snapped as I walked on up. I sat myself down, as did Lena.

"Do you really want to know?" I asked with a wince.

"Yes."

"I broke my leg when a krogan shot a rocket at me and I fell off a platform." I told him. "The broken rib was from a krogan who charged me. I decided to shoot him down rather than get out of his way."

My mother gasped in shock and I felt like I really needed to be anywhere but here, right now.

"And exactly how many krogan did you take on?" He asked.

"Seventeen." I answered immediately, my pride in the number immediately dwindling at the withering look on my dad's face.

"I see." He replied evenly. "And did this happen to be the same instance in which you were loudly and irrationally yelling and threatened to kill their sons and daughters and called them all cowards?"

"That video made it to the extranet?" I asked Lena.

"I only gave it to Allison." Lena said defensively, holding both her hands up in a placating gesture.

"Well of course if you give it to Allison she-" I noticed dad watching me impatiently. "Yes it was, dad."

"I don't like this STT thing you're doing." He stated flatly.

"If not me, it'll just be somebody else's son or daughter." I rationalized. "Look, the things we're doing are important."

"And what was this mission for?" He asked.

"It was so-" I started, then stopped, embarrassed. As always, he'd asked the perfect question to get exactly the answer he wanted. I forced myself to continue. "My krogan squadmate had a daughter who'd been kidnapped. He wanted help."

"So you're telling me that the STT just exists for personal favors?" My mom asked, her eyes cold and her voice colder.

"No." I said defensively. I looked at Lena, who seemed to be leaning away from the table, thoroughly intimidated. "We have the week off. The Council doesn't need us for anything."

"I wish you'd find normal hobbies for your off time." Dad sighed. "Fist-fighting krogan is a damn sight more dangerous than bowling."

"That mission itself may not have been important, but..." I looked around, to see that nobody was paying attention. Good."Our main mission is. There's something very bad coming, dad."

His entire demeanor changed from 'concerned father' to 'a Rear Admiral of the Alliance Navy'.

"How bad?" He asked.

"Galaxy-threatening bad." I expanded. "The kind that all the armies and fleets in the galaxy might not be able to beat."

"Son, what's going on?" Mom asked.

"I can't give you details, dad." I told him, "Not here. But ask Captain Anderson about the 'Old Machines'. I believe he's the military POC here on the Citadel. He'll tell you what you need to know."

"Why not tell the Council?" He asked.

"Because the Council believes whatever the Council chooses to believe, whether it's truth or not." Lena answered bitterly.

"To acknowledge this threat would mean a lot of preparation and if we're wrong, the Council is made to look like a bunch of fools." I told him, "Since the Council is always more concerned with their political prowess than actually taking care of its people, we've been laughed right on out of their chambers."

Dad leaned back in his chair, his gaze calculating.

"I'll speak with this Anderson." He said, "I've been noticing from other sources that something big is coming. Nothing solid, but some of the seedier parts of the galaxy seem to either be packing up and running or fortifying. I can't force the galaxy to be ready, but I can damn well make sure humanity is ready. Your mother is safe with me and I've started advising the men and women to move their spouses and children to Earth as soon as possible. To hear this coming from my son...never thought I'd see the day."

Dad sighed, then said,

"I understand this work you're doing." He said, "I'm very proud of what you're doing. We both are. We just wish you didn't have to do it."

"We all wish that." Mom answered quietly, "but it's not an option."

"How's Shields working out?" Dad asked.

"I suspect you already know the answer to that." I hedged, earning a laugh from Lena, "But she's doing great. Even snuck me down to a facility on our last mission."

"That's good to hear. And congratulations on the promotion." Dad said, "From the unclassified reports I've read about your work, you've earned it."

"That's what they keep saying." I told him.

"You don't believe it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Son, you've been doing a hell of a job."

"It doesn't feel like it." I muttered.

There was a silence that was broken when the waiter took our order. Lena glanced up hopefully at dad, who gave her the go ahead to get what she wanted. This waiter didn't make the mistake of questioning her.

"I see you brought your squad member, but where's this woman, Henry? Is she on her way?" Dad asked. I felt my stomach twist into a knot. Dad didn't even know who I had been talking about? This was going to end badly. I felt Lena's hand snake into mine and squeeze it nervously. "I think you just wanted an excuse to get together again. I couldn't think of who else I was introduced to while you were he-it's her, isn't it?"

Dad had cut off his ramble so quickly that his deduction, while a little late, was still surprising. He was staring down Lena. Despite her usual confident demeanor (Unless it involved anything romantic), she was nearly wilting under his gaze

"Yes."

He was stunned, along with my mother. It was hard to label the expression that came up when dad made the revelation. Confusion would be the best way to explain it.

"But..." mom started, clearly not sure what to say. "How did this happen?"

"We've worked together in some pretty tight situations over the last month." Lena answered quietly. I could feel a bit of pressure from the hand that was in mine. I was coming to realize that though Lena could easily navigate a heavy battlefield, she couldn't navigate the smallest conversation about anything romantic "I know it doesn't make sense, but he and I aren't...all that different."

"Honey," Dad said, "I like you, don't get me wrong, but you're not human."

I fished in my cargo pocket and came out with the photo Lena had given me. I looked at her in askance. I knew this would be uncomfortable for her. There was a moment of hesitation, then she nodded. I held the photo out to mom, who took it hesitantly.

"Oh." She whispered, looking at it. Lena squeezed my hand hard, clearly not sure how to take that. "You're so beautiful."

The pressure on my hand stopped.

"Thank you." Lena said quietly. Mom passed the picture to dad.

"You look a lot more human than I would've expected." He stated. He set the photograph face down quickly as the waiter arrived with our meals. Lena screwed in the paste, something that made mom stare. For once, the stare wasn't lost on Lena.

"I can eat dextro foods, like the turians do." Lena said, sounding like she was speaking past a mouthful of food, "But taking off my mask would make me very sick."

"Then how could you ever be with my son?" Dad asked.

"Over time, our bodies can adapt to whoever we're with after..." She started to say, then trailed off. "It's probably something you don't want to hear about. It's possible, though."

"So can we expect children?" Mom asked.

Of course she asks that.

"I don't know." Lena replied, "There's never been a human and quarian pair. Chances are, no."

"Well." Dad said slowly, "Are you two serious about this?"

"Yes." Lena replied confidently. I felt her hand loosen up even further on mine.

"More serious than I've been with anybody else." I replied.

"Then if it makes you happy," Dad said, "So be it. Just be careful."

"We're just trying to look out for you, son."

"I've done fine on my own, I think."

"Clearly." Dad answered sarcastically, indicating my leg. I ignored it, though. I was much more jubilant that they'd come to terms with Lena and I. And so quickly, too.

"So what else is new?" Dad asked.

"Not much that I can talk about." I told him, "We got to beat up on Cerberus, which is always a plus. Rescued a couple people in the process."

"Another personal mission?" Dad asked through a mouthful of potato. I just nodded.

"Henry's really quite talented as an undercover man." Lena said, her voice suggesting amusement at my expense. "Gave the most hateful speech I've ever heard."

"Bah." Mom disagreed loudly, "I bet these high-minded folk around here can beat it in a second. And they don't even pretend."

A couple of turians and asari looked at her angrily as Lena outright laughed, but I doubted there'd be a fistfight on the Presidium. Besides, I had a badge that I could conveniently pull out to cover my ass.

_One of the few privileges I have._

The rest of the meal was small talk as mom and dad asked Lena what the Fleet was like and she shared a few amusing childhood stories that I was pretty sure were made up. Lena, for her part, did excellent. She didn't trip on her words or stutter, to my amazement.

After the meal, we all stood. Except for Lena, who was slow on the uptake. Clearly, the quarians didn't stand and exchange goodbyes after their meals.

"I'm glad you've found yourself someone, son." Mom said, hugging me tightly. I gasped in pain from the rib and I think Lena was laughing. "She seems so nice. Take care of her."

"Son." Dad said, extending his hand. I shook it firmly. "Keep in touch. I hope you know my whole fleet is cheering for you. Hell, the entire Alliance is cheering for you."

"Bah." I dismissed, "They have Shepard to cheer for."

"Her too," He admitted, "But she's a living special forces legend. You're just a normal Marine. Guess who I'm more impressed with?"

"Of course you're more impressed with me." I told him, "You're my dad."

He patted me on the shoulder then turned to Lena.

"Miss vas-"

"Lena is fine." She interrupted. "I prefer it."

"Lena." He said, holding her picture out, "Good luck out there. See if you can maybe keep my son from being an idiot."

"That's a tall order." She said. The human expression surprised me, as it did my father. There was a moment of silence, then he let out a great belly laugh, earning him glares from surrounding customers.

"Goodbye, sweetie." Mom said, waving at Lena. "And take care, Henry."

"I will." I said, turning around and hobbling off.

"That went pretty well." Lena said when we were out of earshot.

"Yeah." I told her, "Thanks for putting up with it."

I draped an arm around her waist and squeezed her tight. She laughed and pushed away playfully.

I noticed my omni-tool glow and looked down at it in confusion. I had a new message from a David Anderson.

I imagined it was Captain Anderson. I opened up the message and found it to be a very long report.

"Reapers..."I muttered. "Indoctrination..."

"What is that?" Lena asked.

"We need to get everyone together right now." I instructed her, "They need to hear this."

___**STT Zeta**_  
_**Captain Elura Unami - Asari, Commando**_  
_**Lieutenant Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Lena'Zuril Vas Uline - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Mercenary**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Pilot**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew**_


	17. Chapter 17

Elura slunk into the briefing room sullenly, her red gaze tired. She sat down and looked up at me expectantly.

_What in the hell is with her?_I wondered.

She'd been steadily getting more depressed and withdrawn from us. I had originally chalked it up to the stress of running back-to-back ops, but now I wasn't so sure. I made a note to talk to her about it, sometime.

When I'd walked onto the ship, I couldn't help but notice that we seemed to suddenly have a lot more turians on board. They were mainly working the gun controls and weapon systems, though a couple of them were tinkering with the Mako down in the shuttle bay.

"Alright, now that everyone's here..." I muttered, typing into my omni-tool. Everybody's lit up when they received the report.

"I just sent everyone a report that was forwarded to me by a Captain Anderson, who I believe also works with Commander Shepard." I started, "You can peruse it at your own leisure, but I'll sum it up for you. The Old Machines we've been worried about are a little more capable than were aware of. Apparently, they hold the power to brainwash others. It's being referred to as Indoctrination."

"So the scientists on Gei Hinnom..." Elura muttered.

"I'd imagine." I said with a shrug. "It's the only thing that makes sense. Not much else is going to compel a hundred or so scientists and workers to open fire on a special forces team."

"Doesn't stop the guilt." She said.

"It makes it worse, actually." I agreed.

That had been my first reaction, that was for sure. I'd killed those scientists for being brainwashed. It hadn't been their fault and they certainly hadn't known what they were doing.

"So where does that leave us?" Elura asked, clearly not even caring for the answer.

"More knowledgeable than before." Roluck answered, oblivious to her hostility. "We're going to have to tiptoe around these Old Machines if we ever see them."

"And just what were you doing sending reports to some human?" Elura snipped at me, her voice grave. Her crimson eyes were glaring me down and I felt myself involuntarily straighten. Was I getting grilled?

"I'm an Alliance Soldier, too." I told her. "Look, nobody else was taking us seriously. He's willing to do something about it."

"That doesn't give you automatic permission to-" She started.

"It's definitely useful." Krieg grunted. "Nothing wrong with making friends in high places on something like this."

"Consult me, next time." Elura ordered.

_Thank you, Krieg._ I praised inwardly. _Thank you so much._

"I will." I told her. An awkward silence fell across the room, then Elura spoke again.

"Doctor Aline is up and about." Elura said, "She's likely going to become a permanent addition to the Peacemaker Crew. She knows just about every type of physiology there is in the galaxy, so she'll be a good fit. PFC Krylin is, as Roluck has constantly reminded me, one hell of a shuttle pilot. So she'll probably be staying with us, too."

"Good to hear." Roluck said, a slight smile working its way through his mandibles.

_He likes her. A lot._

It was pretty obvious, to be honest.

"You also may have noticed a lot of turians walking around." She said, "As a thanks for our rescue and in light of Lieutenant Vether's commitment to his people, the turian 15th flotilla assigned a small crew of shield and weapon system technicians to The Peacemaker. Fifteen personnel. Which, if my math is correct, brings us up to about thirty crewmembers on board, not counting Zeta Team."

"We're going to be running a full ship, soon enough." Errahe observed.

"Well, the Alliance is in talks with General Toulius about adding six or seven crewmembers to the ship to help maintain subsystems and armor." Elura said. "And the Salarians want to add a few technicians to work in the med-bay. On top of that, the asari want to throw in a few navigators to assist in plotting courses and precision jumps."

"Looks like everyone's trying to get in on this crew." Roluck said.

"And for good reason." Elura informed him, "You should see how much attention our team has been getting lately. The galaxy is really tense right now and they need hope. Our strike on the Cerberus base has been de-classified for morale purposes and apparently has made waves in the military community."

"Really?" Lena asked.

"A multi-species crew taking out a hardcore terrorist base and rescuing a couple military personnel?" She asked, "Of course we're raising morale. Which is why the Council wants us on this next mission."

"What mission?" I wondered.

"The geth are apparently encroaching on a small colony world." Elura said, pulling up a hologram of a small forest-covered planet. "This is Tiptree, a small human colony world in outer council space. We're being tasked to save the colony. A small Alliance force is already stationed there, but they will need assistance."

"And we're going to be back up." Krieg muttered. "Seems pretty straight-forward."

"There's only one issue." I spoke, "Once we're there, we're gonna have to stay there until the fight is over."

"What do you mean?" Elura asked.

"I mean we'll have no support." I told her, "That Old Machine that the geth bring with them might be there. The Peacemaker can't fight that kind of ship. So once we're down there, we'll be committed to the battle until it's over. No retreat."

"He brings up a good point." Roluck admitted. "Which means we're going to have to wipe the Geth out and force them to use that ship to escape."

"In other words," Krieg said, "We need to wipe out the ground forces so that there will be no reason for the ship to stay."

"Basically." Elura said, nodding.

"And I can't be there for this one." I realized suddenly, "Can I?"

"No." She said, "You can't."

I sighed and stared at the table, drumming my fingers on it. I couldn't just sit here and do nothing. I ran through scenarios in my head, of how I could possibly help without being on the battlefield. I came up with nothing.

"We'll get a better grasp of the layout of the settlement once we're there." Elura said, "For now, make whatever preparations you deem necessary. We'll be there in two hours. Lena, you'll be taking the controls for the Mako. Everyone, dismissed."

"Right." I muttered, getting up and deciding that I wanted to chat with PFC Krylin. I had no idea what the woman was like, but I had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn't just Roluck's squad member. I wanted to get one up on Roluck, for once.

Maybe I can hold it over his head. I mused. Since he was betting on Lena and I. Shuttle Bay, here I come.

As I left the briefing room, however, I was surprised when Lena grabbed me by the arm.

"We have somewhere to go." She informed me.

"I was just gonna talk to PF-"

"Can't wait, sorry." She said, her voice lofty. I narrowed my eyes at her, suspicious about the evasiveness.

So I let her lead me down to the medbay. When we got there, the asari was up and around, her blue stare on a datapad in her hand. She looked up at us as we entered.

"Ah," She said, extending a hand. "I don't believe we met."

I lifted my unoccupied arm and shook hands with her. Lena did the same, albeit a little awkwardly. The woman smiled at us.

"Doctor Aulra Aline." she introduced, a warm smile on her face. "I was told of your part in my rescue, Henry."

"I just fired a couple rounds." I told her, "Nothing more."

"You under-write your impact." She replied with that same smile. "But thank you, both of you. I would've died in that horrible place and they would've engineered a horrific plague because of it."

"It's not a problem." Lena responded. "I was wondering if you could...return the favor. In your capacity as the Chief Medical Officer."

"What do you need?" Dr. Alina asked, the warm smile still on her face.

"How familiar are you with quarian physiology?" She asked.

I finally saw exactly where this was going and realized I wanted nothing to do with the conversation that was about to ensue. There was no escape, though.

"I know you're the most anatomically and physically similar species to humans." she said, "Probably the only species that resembles another so closely. I know how to work around your immune systems, or lack thereof. I know how to perform surgery and even know how to repair the few cybernetics installed in your body."

"How much do you know about human physiology?" Lena asked.

"A lot." Dr. Aline said, "Before I graduated from our medical academy, I was given a human and turian to perform extensive surgery on as my final exam."

"So..." Lena started, sounding like she wasn't quite sure how to phrase the question, "How can we...that is, how do the two of us...um..."

"Become intimate." I finished for her, my voice sounding mutinous even to me.

"Oh." Dr. Aline said, her eyes widening in what was obviously surprise, "Well...I've never given the matter thought. I don't think that's ever even happened before. However, if I could give a suggestion, it probably wouldn't be too much different from anything involving quarian relationships. First, find an area that can be sterilized. One can easily be made on the ship, though I'm not sure everyone will be fine with that. You'll already be sterilized from your suit, Lena. I recommend you sterilize yourself as well, Henry. The first time, oral contact with the skin is dangerous until your body adjusts to him. Either of you taking in fluids from the other will be dangerous at first, but tolerable later."

"Pregnancy?" Lena wondered.

"The reproductive system of a quarian...every system, really, is incredibly similar to human anatomy." Dr. Alina surmised. "Save for the weakened immune system. However, nutritional needs are very similar, despite the dextro proteins so she could sustain...Honestly, I don't know."

She started typing on her omni-tool. "I'm making a list. These are items that will need to be purchased from the Citadel. Make sure you take these vitamins at least six hours before you plan to have your...encounter. They'll keep your immune system strong for short bouts. Eventually, after about two or three times, there will be no need for the vitamins. The sterilization, while technically not necessary t that point, would still be recommended."

"Thank you, Doctor." Lena replied as her omni-tool and mine lit up. I felt my cheeks heating as Dr. Alina looked between the two of us.

"It's so nice to see the quarian gaining some level of respect in the galaxy." She said, "I remember when I was just becoming a matron and the quarian were forced off world."

"If it's not too inappropriate to ask..." I started, "How old are you, exactly?"

"I'm 650 years old." She replied with a smile.

I resisted the urge to let out an impressed whistle, instead looking at Lena.

"Wanna go talk to Krylin?" I asked, "Now that you finished dragging me down here?"

"Don't act like you didn't want to know." She shot back smugly. Then she looked back at Dr. Aline. "I hope you settle in alright."

"I'll see you again, I'm sure." Dr. Aline answered, as we turned away and started down towards my area of the ship.

The first thing I noted when the door opened to the shuttle bay was there were no less than six turians working around the bay. The second thing I noted was a pair of turians looking over my armor on the weapons bench.

"Heyheyhey!" I lashed out, striding to the table, "No playing with my stuff when I'm not around."

"Sorry, Staff Sergeant." They both said, before walking off.

"That was a little rude." Lena observed.

"They were messing with my stuff." I muttered mutinously. I looked around, trying to locate PFC Krylin. I was unable to find her.

"PFC Krylin?!" I called out to the shuttle bay in general.

"Yes, Staff Sergeant?" came a voice from behind me.

"Gah! Shit!" I exclaimed, spinning. Even Lena let out a slight squeak of alarm, though she attempted to cover it with a cough. As I spun to Krylin, I decided to let Lena keep her dignity and I didn't mention it.

Krylin looked a lot better, her tan face not anywhere near as pale and now covered with light red markings that looked a lot like Roluck's.

"Just wanted to see how you're settling in." I said. "I can imagine it must be pretty disorienting."

"Very." She agreed with a nod. "It's so strange being on a ship with so many different aliens. I've been briefed on what's been going on. I'm sorry to hear about what happened at Eden Prime."

"It's in the past." I told her, honestly. I still looked back on it with no small amount of anger and pain, but it wasn't always in my thoughts, anymore. "But I'm probably the only one on this ship who knows what Roluck was going through."

"You mean Lieutenant Vether." She corrected stiffly, "Staff Sergeant."

"The two of us don't call each other by rank." I informed her with a shrug. "And if I had to guess, I'd think maybe he wouldn't want you to, either."

"We're defined by our professionalism." She pointed out coldly, "I will not be referring to him by first name in front of other personnel."

"I don't mean in front of other personnel." I confided in her. She seemed taken aback by the observation, her eyes going wide as she visibly struggled to find an answer to that. "Think of it what you will, but you didn't see the rampage Roluck was on during the rescue. Just...something to think about. Other than that, though, how are you holding up? Feeling any after effects?"

"No." She answered, both relieved and visibly put off by the sudden change in the direction of this conversation, "I'm ready for this mission, sir. I'm sorry to hear you'll be staying behind."

"I got another four days." I told her, patting my leg gingerly.

"Lieutenant Vether mentioned you broke it while fighting...seventeen krogan?" The end was a question, she was clearly skeptical.

"Lena could show you the video of me yelling at them." I told her. Then added grumpily "Since she's already shown most of the galaxy."

"And then you strained it even more during...Horizon?"

"Yeah." I answered.

"Thank you, for your part in that." She said. "I want you to know that I still owe you and everyone on this ship a debt that I can't repay."

"If you pilot that shuttle better than Allison," I joked, "Consider it repaid."

"I gotta get back to work, Staff Sergeant." Kyril informed me.

"Well, have fun, then." I said as she walked over to the Mako.

_What a strange woman._

I looked over at Lena before activating my omni-tool.

"You know," I said, "We have some time before you have to go."

"What do you have in mind?" She asked

"Well." I said, looking down at my omni-tool, "I've been doing some research of my own. I see that Omega, here, has rooms for rent made especially for quarians. Scrubbed down and everything."

"And?" Lena asked, her voice intentionally innocent.

"And next time we hit the Citadel," I continued, "we should do a little shopping. I could rent that room in Omega and we could...get rid of some stress before heading out again."

"Get rid of stress?" She asked coyly, "Exactly what do you mean?"

I pulled her close to me. I wanted to rip that damn mask off and press my lips to hers' right in the middle of this shuttle bay. As it was, our actions were probably being watched with disapproval by the surrounding turians. I couldn't give a damn.

"I mean you and me in that room for as long as we can possibly keep it."

"Do you think you can afford it?" She asked.

"On my salary?" I shot back, "No. But these are owned by Aria T'Loak. Who, if you remember, is an employer of Krieg's. Who, if you recall, owes me a pretty substantial favor."

"Well, look at you," She teased, "You might as well be the Shadow Broker, with all the connections you have."

"There's only one I want." I said, grinning.

"Well," She said, gently pushing me away, "Looks like you'll have to wait until this mission is over, then. At least it'll give me something to look forward to after this is over."

I think she was going for humor, but that sounded a lot more serious than I would've thought. I smiled as she turned and walked out of the Shuttle Bay.

I looked down at my omni-tool again and opened a link up to one Urdnot Krieg.

_Krieg,_ I started the note,_ I know this is going to sound crazy, but I figure you might owe me one after the mission on Tuchunka and I got a nice, easy way for you to repay it, if you're willing..._

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Elura Unami - Asari, Commando_**  
**_Lieutenant Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Lena'Zuril Vas Uline - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Mercenary_**

**_Peacemaker Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_PFC Orren Kyril - Shuttle Pilot_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew_**


	18. Chapter 18

I watched the shuttle out of the cockpit as it descended to the small planet. It was odd, I didn't see the Reaper around. Maybe they wouldn't be bringing that monstrosity to this fight.

PFC Krylin had been left aboard, mainly so she wouldn't be exposed to the fight needlessly. Other than that, the rest of the team had gone down.

"You have to wonder why in the hell they'd attack Tiptree." Allison said, "I've been through here before on a port call. There's nothing. No Prothean ruins, no strategic importance...just nothing. A few settlements. That's about it."

"I don't know." I muttered, shrugging. "Maybe the Geth see something we don't."

"Either way." I told her, "We need to start getting away from this fight. Keep in radio contact, though."

"I've secured a line directly to Roluck and Elura's helmets." She said, turning the ship around and opening up the throttle a bit. "Can't be jammed, only destroyed at the source."

"Good job." I praised. She turned and smiled.

"This is Elura." Elura reported, her voice echoing through the cockpit. "We have made contact with the enemy. So far, the attack seems surprisingly light."

"That's we-" I started, until everything in the cockpit suddenly stopped working. All the controls and lights completely turned off and Allison stood there in shock.

"What?" I muttered.

"Oh shit," She said, "we've been hacked."

"WHAT?!" I yelled in alarm. Almost as if on cue, a geth ship suddenly appeared in the distance, about ten kilometers away. It was headed this way.

"Dammit." I muttered. I was thankful I still had my pistol on me, but I wasn't going to be of much help with only that. "What have we got, Shields?"

"EMP knocked out primary systems," She reported frantically, "but I've got a few subsystems intact. Life support is still online. Escape pods are offline."

"Is the comms system still working?"

"Only internal." She said, anxiously shifting in her seat as she watched the incoming frigate.

"Put me on."

Shields pressed one of the few buttons that hadn't gone dark.

"This is Staff Sergeant Gerrard." I reported, "We are under attack from geth forces. All technicians and support crews, get to the engineering deck and prepare to defend yourselves if necessary. PFC Krylin, bring my weapons and armor up immediately. Use the ladders. Anybody who wants to fight, please report up to the bridge."

"What do I do?" Allison asked. I look down at the Navy Pilot. I had a task for her, but it wouldn't be easy. In fact, it'd be a little bit dangerous.

"I can't have you in combat." I told her. She opened her mouth to protest, but I cut in over her. "I need you to barricade this door and find a way to re-establish that link with Elura and Roluck. Do whatever you need to do and tell them our ship is under attack."

"What are you going to do?" She asked. I looked back into the navigation area of the bridge.

"I've got an advantage down there." I told her, eying the slowly approaching geth ship. "There's a long passageway with only room for one at a time. I can hold them there myself for a bit."

"But you're injured!" She protested.

"Good point." I snapped back, "You grab my rifle and get over there while I establish the link."

"Point taken." She said. I looked back to see a plate pop open from the floor and my armor shoved out.

"Lock the door behind me." I instructed as the geth ship approached within a kilometer. "Don't open the door unless you hear my voice instructing you to do so. I'll have my rebreather helmet on, so you can keep in touch with me through there. Also, and I cannot stress this enough, stay low. I'm going to be using my sniper rifle and...it may be able to punch through this door, if I miss."

"Alright." She said, her green eyes wide. She was visibly shaking, but I knew she'd do what she had to.

I hobbled back and heard the door slide shut behind me. My sniper rifle was, with difficulty, shoved out of the same spot on the floor. I walked over quickly and picked up my armor. I started to put the plates on and was surprised when a fully armed and armored PFC Krylin pulled herself out of the hole and put the plate back.

"And just what the hell do you think you're doing?" I demanded.

"I'm not leaving you here to fight this by yourself, Staff Sergeant." She said, "Nobody should be left to die alone."

I opened my mouth to argue, when I realized what she meant. She'd been in my position before. Isolated, hopelessly outnumbered and ill-suited to fight a one-man battle. She didn't want that hell for anybody else.

So instead of arguing, I simply said, "Thank you."

She nodded, her mandibles set in a grim look as she set her helmet. I did the same, then pointed to the balcony that extended over the galaxy map (Which was currently shut down).

"Stay up there." I told her.

"I don't have an angle on the door from there, Staff Sergeant." She argued.

"I don't need someone else shooting geth at the door." I told her, "I need someone covering me in case one of them gets too close with a shotgun."

"Understood." She said. I heard beeping at the entry door, near the cockpit, that informed me the geth were about to enter. Krylin took her place as I kneeled down just before the stairs, leaving only my head and shoulders exposed. I set my rifle on the top stair, allowing me to leverage it into a good position. I settled in behind it as I threw the cane out with the other hand.

"We're in position." I reported.

"Henry!" Lena yelled over the line. I guess Allison had gotten that connection back faster than I had thought.

"Henry," Roluck said, "Elura's busy trying to get the shuttle started."

"What about the geth down there?" I asked. I heard the door slide open and got ready.

"Minimal presence. Security forces are taking care of them." Roluck said. "Clearly, this was a feint to get the Peacemaker."

The first geth popped up around the corner. Without a moment's hesitation, I fired. The round nearly tore the geth in half. With a mechanical groan, the geth hit the deck. Another one was right behind it. It got the same exact treatment.

"And it'll work if you guys don't get up here quick." I told them, "I'm already engaging the geth with Krylin."

"What?" Roluck said as I dispatched another geth. I laid down to reload. "Why?"

"Because I'd rather fight than leave him to die alone, sir." Krylin responded. "I've been there before."

Two geth were rushing down the bridge towards me, shotguns in hand. Krylin got a bead on them and lit into them, tearing them apart with the Avenger's superior firing rate. I finished reloading and came back up to a knee. I found a sudden group of six geth heading towards me. I fired at the first one and brought it down. My second shot was perfectly aligned, punching through the relatively thin cores of two geth. The third took a geth's head off. I got back down to reload as Krylin dispatched the two that were closing in on me.

"This is Risha." came the quarian engineer's voice, "I'm here in engineering with the crew. What's your status? Do you need our assistance?"

"Negative!" I yelled, "Stay down there! We're still holding up here!"

A round passed over my head.

"For the moment." I added.

"We have combat training, Staff Sergeant." She pointed out.

"We'll be fine." I lied.

Krylin's Avenger chattered behind me, dropping another geth onto its back.

"Reloading!" She yelled.

I popped up from my position and fired a pair of rounds into a bigger geth with a shotgun. He went down in pieces as I fired another round at a geth trooper. Its head pretty much exploded, pieces flying everywhere. I dropped back down and groped around for another thermal clip for the rifle. I was surprised to find I had no more.

"Krylin!" I yelled, "Move down here, we're going to need more fire on the door!"

"On my way!" She shouted back as I dropped the sniper rifle and drew the Phalanx. There were about a dozen of them, now, crowded around the cockpit door and headed our way. One of them was trying to hack into the cockpit, but he was shielded by the others.

"ETA 3 minutes." Elura reported.

I fired at the geth at the door, but my rounds didn't reach him, busy impacting on the other geth. Two of them went down before Krylin joined me, ducking to stay out of fire from the group of geth.

My head was forced down, as well, but I needed to kill that geth immediately.

"There's one trying to get in!" Allison yelled.

"I know!" I yelled back. There was a problem now, though. We were being overwhelmed by the six or seven geth coming down the bridge and there were a few more coming out of the airlock. "I really didn't want to have to do this."

I pulled a frag grenade from my belt and gave Krylin a look. She backed away as I pulled the pin and threw it.

"Get down!" I yelled to Allison.

There was a concussive blast and the sound of metal on metal as the shrapnel sliced through the geth. There were so many on the bridge that they blocked any shrapnel coming through this way. I peeked up to see most of the geth lying on the floor, deactivated. Those that weren't were still stunned. Rounds from Krylin finished them.

I looked around for a quick second to find that the shrapnel had torn holes into the bridge, letting the atmosphere outside in. Good thing we'd brought the rebreathers or we'd be choking to death right now.

"Be advised, crew and Zeta." I said, "We have multiple hull breaches on the bridge."

"Was that necessary?!" Allison yelled, rage in her voice.

"If you'd been out here, Corporal," Krylin fired back coldly, "you would've seen how necessary it was."

"I've got a rebreather mask up here." Allison said, sounding thoroughly chastised. "I should be fine."

"ETA one minute." Elura reported. "We're firing on the geth ship. Our shuttle guns aren't strong, but the ship is immobile."

That was when what had to be the rest of the Geth ship decided it was high time they boarded. Geth started to stream through the airlock and while they weren't rushing us, there were already ten of them up at the end, with more coming. I started to let loose with the gunfire. I put down a pair of geth right off the rest of the clip, while Krylin brought down a few with her assault rifle.

I pulled the thermal clip out of my pistol and was about fished around my pocket for another clip when there was a sudden white-hot streak of agony that flashed through my head. I screamed as I fell, unaware of what was going on around me. I heard Krylin's voice, but I couldn't understand what she was saying. I was trying to breathe, but I could only get the slightest bit of air.

_My helmet._ I realized in a panic, _There's a breach in my helmet._

If I didn't get it sealed in the next minute or so, I'd die from asphyxiation.

Whether it was the pain or the lack of oxygen was beyond me, but my sight was dimming and the presence of unchecked panic was gripping me. Through my ringing ears, I heard an explosion and suddenly felt someone pressing their hand to my helmet. I could suddenly breath again and I started coughing, tasting blood in my mouth. I looked around to see Krylin crouched low next to me, having dragged me out of the line of sight and pressed her claw to the breach in my helmet.

I lifted my head enough to see into the bridge. Just in time to hear a mighty roar and see Krieg come barreling through the airlock, slamming into a pair of geth and crushing them between his body and a bulkhead. Lena and Roluck swept around him, firing into the backs of the geth advancing on us. Elura and Errahe brought up the rear, executing any geth who weren't already dead. The battle was over in seconds.

Lena was the first to arrive. She started shaking me, speaking fast. Her voice was sweet, her language complex and consisting of way too many vowels.

_I could listen to that for days._ I thought to myself. _She has such a beautiful voice._

Allison was the next one in my field of view. She had a blue mask over her mouth and nose that was filtering air in. Her emerald eyes were worried as she looked me over.

I could feel liquid in the helmet. Blood. Someone had tagged me in the head.

"Henry, can you hear me?" She asked. Her voice sounded a little muffled, but I could understand her.

"Allison." I muttered, "Translator broke."

"He can't understand what you're saying!" She said, standing up and yelling at everyone, "His translator was shot."

Elura said something to Allison. Her language was also surprisingly musical to the ears. From the look on Elura's face though, she was stressed and worried.

"Can you stand?" Allison asked me. "We need to get you to the medbay fast."

"Let me try." I muttered. I rolled over and very slowly managed to get to all fours. I felt like I was going to vomit and the deck was sliding out from under me. I struggled to my feet and as soon as I straightened, I pitched forward. I felt strong hands grab me and suddenly there was a shoulder under mine. I looked to my side to see Roluck's red and black face peering back at me. I nodded to him and we started walking towards the elevators.

Krieg, Errahe and Elura headed off to see what they could do about the hull breaches. Allison was coming with, as were Lena and Krylin. This ship wouldn't be going anywhere soon, but Allison informed me that the turians were getting things underway while the quarians scavenged the geth on the bridge to recover whatever tech and information they could find.

I was escorted to the medbay, where Doctor Aline already waited. She looked stern when I was dragged in and set on one of the beds. She began speaking that musical language to Allison.

"Wait, wait." I said, looking around, "What's going on?"

"There's shrapnel from the round still lodged in your skull." Allison informed me, "We need to get you to surgery before the shrapnel works its way deeper."

On the list of things I never wanted to hear, that ranked pretty damn high. I looked at her, then at Lena. Her eyes narrowed and indicated a smile as she rested a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Alright." I said, "Put me under."

"We weren't planning on asking." Allison admitted.

Roluck held my arm steady while Dr. Aline injected me with something.

In seconds, I saw my world go dark as I fell asleep.

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Elura Unami - Asari, Commando_**  
**_Lieutenant Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Lena'Zuril Vas Uline - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Mercenary_**

**_Peacemaker Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_PFC Orren Kyril - Shuttle Pilot_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew_**


	19. Chapter 19

I awoke with a groan, feeling groggy. The world in front of me was blurry, but I could see what looked like the uniform of an Alliance officer in front of me. My vision refocused a little and I realized who it was.

Captain Anderson was standing over my bed, with some of the crew at his side. Roluck, Lena, Allison and Krylin were here. So was a camera crew, much to my surprise.

"Glad you're awake." Lena spoke. I guess someone had fitted me with a translator that hadn't been shot off. "Might've had to hit you until you woke up, if you waited any longer."

I smiled, then looked at Captain Anderson.

"So we're at the Citadel, sir?" I wondered.

"We are, Staff Sergeant." He answered with a smile. "A few of your team have gone to speak to the Council about this last mission. Tiptree is fine and the geth were repelled from the ship. Apparently, your crew obtained some information on the Reapers from the geth cores. Information that you'll have to give me, since your crew refuses to do it."

He didn't seem overly offended by the refusal. I imagined that he'd expected it, being a military man and having to deal with a chain of command himself.

"You'll have it by the end of the night." I told him.

"We're still trying to figure out why the geth attacked us like that." Roluck muttered. "It seems pretty out of character for them."

I thought about it and realized he had a good point. Ambushes weren't really so much the geth's thing. They had to be after something, to attack like that.

_But what in the hell could they be after?_ I wondered. _The last ambush like that was at Eden Prime and they were looking for a Prothean beacon. I know we don't have tech like that aboard the ship. I'd know about it by now._

"We'll figure it out." Captain Anderson assured him. "For now, though, we've got a little bit of a ceremony for him and PFC Krylin over there."

"Sir?" She asked, surprised.

"General Toulius is in with the Council," Captain Anderson said, "He can't be here. So in the meantime, stand over there by Staff Sergeant Gerrard, will you?"

"Y-yes, sir." She stammered. As Roluck looked on with a smile, Krylin walked up next to my bed, her claws behind her back. She faced Captain Anderson, who produced a pair of papers and pulled something else out of his pocket with a fist. He looked at the cameraman and gave him a nod. The cameraman turned the camera on and I did my best to look professional. Which was really hard, since I was shirtless and my pants were gone. At least Dr. Aline had left me a shred of dignity by leaving my boxers on and covering my lower body with a sheet.

"We stand here today to acknowledge two crewmembers of The Peacemaker who stood fast during an ambush on their ship and single-handedly defended a crew of nearly forty quarians and turians against overwhelming odds."

"Private First Class Orren Kyrlin, of Special Tasks Team Zeta." Captain Anderson announced, "You showed uncommon valor and dedication to duty when, a mere day after being rescued from a Cerberus facility and assigned as a non-combatant shuttle pilot, you joined Staff Sergeant Gerrard up on the deck of the Peacemaker to repel an overwhelming geth assault. Your courage and heroism will be recorded in the history of the STT-Turian Division. As such, you will also be rewarded the Palaven Cross, as well as a promotion to Corporal."

"Lieutenant Vether?"

I never thought I'd see that Turian smile on her face, but she managed to do it. Captain Anderson handed the medal to Roluck, who walked over and handed her the medal. She shook his claw, the touch lingering just a little longer than it needed to before she let go. I saw the smile transfer to Roluck.

"Congratulations, Corporal." Roluck told her, "It's well-deserved."

She put her arms behind her back again and then Captain Anderson looked at me as Roluck stepped away.

"Staff Sergeant Henry Gerrard, of Special Tasks Team Zeta." He spoke, a smile on his face, "You displayed the highest valor and dedication to duty the Alliance could ask of you. With two broken bones from a previous battle, you stood your ground and fought an entire geth frigate's boarding party with only Private First Class Krylin at your side. In doing so, you saved not only Alliance personnel but turian personnel and quarian personnel. In the process of this defense, you sustained even further damage. This bravery embodies our highest values. As such, you are being awarded the Alliance Cross, our species' second highest award for valor."

Anderson strode forward and grabbed my hand. He pressed the medal into my hand softly and gave me a nod.

"Good work, son." He said, "I'd say you've earned a little shore leave, if you can get it."

"Only if there's no more work to be done." I answered.

"Good man." He replied, chuckling. He gestured to the cameraman, who turned off the camera.

"Send that to the Alliance News Network and the Council." Anderson said. He looked down at me. "Sit this next mission out somewhere that isn't on the ship. Captain's orders. "

"I'm not going to be one to argue with you, sir." I told him. "Maybe we could head out to a-"

"You can't leave." He admitted, cutting me off. "I just said that for the cameras. Security around the Citadel has increased and...let's just say something bad is coming our way."

"When you say 'bad'..." I started, "You mean..."

"Yes, I do." He answered, his eyes boring into mine. "I warned your team. They're ready to go. I can't keep you out of harm's way. Sending you off the Citadel is impossible right now."

"I'll try to stay out of the way, sir." I promised, knowing I was going to do no such thing. "The wards should be a good place to lay low."

"Good." He said, "I've got to prepare for what's about to happen to me."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your ship isn't the only one that's grounded." He answered cryptically. "I've got to visit the ambassador."

So, with that, he walked out of the room. I looked to Dr. Aline.

"Am I good to go?" I asked her.

"Yes." She replied, "The sedatives should've worn off by now. You're in a position to be mobile again."

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" I asked.

"Did you want to be standing in front of the Captain at an awards ceremony with only a pair of underwear on?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Good point." I said. I slowly got out of bed, with Lena assisting me. "What was the damage?"

"Mostly surface damage." Dr. Aline answered. "You'll have some scarring to the side of your head and...you're missing part of your right ear."

"What?" I asked, not sure if I'd heard her correctly.

_No pun intended._

She didn't answer, instead handing me a mirror. I looked into the mirror hesitantly.

There were no bandages, as they weren't really needed. I had a nasty red line cutting right across my temple and digging in a little deeper further back. I'd been scalped by the round and the ensuing surgery. The worst damage, though, was the mangled ear I was looking at right now. There was no hole, there was merely just a chunk of it clearly missing. This part of the wound was bandaged, undoubtedly to prevent infection.

"Well." I muttered. I looked up at Lena, who was watching me expectantly. "The krogan women are gonna come flocking."

Lena shoved me playfully, before grabbing me by the arm and leading me out.

"So." Roluck said, catching up to us, "Should we have your armor and weapons waiting?"

"Yep." I told him, "I'd have the ship disengage if the battle does happen. See what kind of mischief Allison and the crew can get up to. We can stay on the ground and make life miserable for anything that comes here."

"I'll gather the team." Roluck replied, "We'll get ready. I'd recommend we all get some rest in the transient barracks. We'll take watch and if something happens, we should all be up quick."

"Good." I said.

"Now comes the hard part." He said with a sigh. I looked back at him, the tone catching me off guard.

_Just what is harder than a big-ass geth invasion?_

"Which is?" I asked.

"Elura." He answered. I looked at him questioningly. He looked around and pulled me into one of the observation decks. Lena followed us curiously.

"Henry." He said, "I saw the reports that were sent to the Council about Tiptree. I'm the XO of this team, all of the information comes through me."

"And?" I asked.

"There was something...off...about them." He said, "The information was perfect. Listed times, size of forces, et cetera."

"What's the problem?" Lena asked.

"Have you ever seen one of these reports?" He asked, "They are never that perfect. They had to be doctored."

"That's not enough." I replied evenly.

"I sent in an inquiry to pull the record of our mission on Gei Hinnom." He continued. "The artifact that we supposedly turned over to the Council? Never made it there."

"And?" I asked, still not sure where he was going with this.

"Remember indoctrination?" He asked.

"Yeah." I told him, "Could be done by anything produced by the Reapers. Even a piece of-"

I stopped, right there.

_No..._

"She brought it back to her room." I whispered.

"Yes." He answered.

"She's been getting real bitchy lately." I muttered.

"We pretty much had to force her to leave Tiptree," He informed me, "Despite how well the garrison was doing."

"And where else would she keep the artifact," Lena said, cottoning on, "But in the one place nobody would look for it?"

"Her room on the ship." Roluck answered. "Which is why the geth attacked it. We need to find her. Now."

"You're right." I said with a nod.

"Alright," He agreed. He looked at Lena. "The rest of the crew is headed for the markets. Meet up with them there."

"Where's he going?" She asked, looking at me.

"He's coming with me to C-Sec." Roluck said, "I let slip that I knew something was wrong and she knows I'll have figured it out by now. She might try to retreat somewhere we can't touch her. So either a crowded area like the markets or a police station."

"Let's go." I urged him. My leg was good enough now that I could walk around on it, so I followed him up the elevator to C-Sec as Lena walked off towards a different set of elevators.

"Will we be able to beat her?" I asked

"I don't know." He answered honestly, accompanying it with a shrug. "She's not to be trifled with, due to her biotics."

We rode the elevator up. It was a tense ride, with both of us trying our best not to storm out of the door and into a police station with weapons drawn. Elura was special forces, like us. If anyone could take the two of us out with little difficulty, it'd be her.

We were treated to the sight of a busy C-Sec when the door opened. A lot of the officers were staring at me, undoubtedly due to the bandages. I ignored them as we slowly swept the place, trying not to look too obvious about it.

At the last corridor, we found her.

She was pacing around a small waiting area, clearly agitated. She was wringing her hands in what was a surprisingly universal gesture. She looked...anxious. When we rounded the corner, she looked up at us.

"Roluck." She said quietly.

Roluck didn't waste time, drawing his pistol and aiming it at Elura. Elura snapped her own pistol up, focusing it on Roluck. The few people in the small room screamed and ran for the door.

"C-SEC!" An officer yelled behind me. I turned to see a turian holding a gun on me. I raised both my hands, but put myself in the way of the confrontation.

"This is Special Tasks Team business." I informed him, "I'm going to reach for my diplomatic badge, okay?"

"Slowly." He growled. I slowly dug my hand into my back pocket and displayed the badge to him.

"This woman is working with the geth." I told him, "Keep everyone out of this room."

"Don't make a mess." He grunted, before walking out of the room.

I turned back around to see the stalemate still going. Both of the were equally fixated on each other, anger in both of their faces.

"You're working with the Reapers." He growled. "You kept the artifact, it indoctrinated you and it made you doctor a report send us to Tiptree so that you could leave the ship undefended."

"I left Henry there!" She argued. "I left the rest of the crew there!"

"Like you really thought they'd be able to hold the ship?" He shot back. I tried not to feel bad about the unintentional insult. "And the artifact that never made it to the Council?"

"I handed it off to one of the Council's couriers." She explained, her voice strained, "He had the clearance and everything!"

"Liar!" He yelled, making her flinch. I nervously glanced at him, very put off by his demeanor.

_I expected anger, Roluck,_ I thought, _But this is starting to get way too tense._

"This is about you, Vether!" She snapped, "I know what you're really after."

"What?" He asked, suddenly put off of his rampage.

"Turian Articles Concerning Fraternization." She growled, a frown on her face, "Section 14.22C, concerning fraternization with Superior Officers. Which allows for fraternization between turian officers and enlisted, as long as the officer is commanding the unit."

"What's that have to do with anything?!" Roluck yelled angrily.

"She's...what? A Corporal, now?"

He froze, his mandibles working slowly. I realized what she meant.

"Krylin." I muttered. "You care for her."

"Of course I do." He snapped at me, "I'm sure I made that abundantly clear during the raid on Horizon."

"This isn't your first attempt to overthrow a superior officer, is it?" Elura asked, her eyes drilling into his, "I let you on my ship, knowing full well that you'd attempted a mutiny against your last commander."

"He was going to get us all-"

"I trusted you, Roluck." She said softly, disappointment and pain written all over her face, "I trusted you."

Roluck had nothing to say. I wasn't sure there was anything he could say.

"And the way he treated you then?" She asked, looking at me, "And the way he's treating you now? Why would he bring only you for this confrontation?"

"He-he thought you might be taking cover in the market." I answered slowly.

"We are the only real threats on this team." She answered, her eyes keeping track of every single twitch Roluck made. "Errahe and Lena wouldn't last against him and he could easily take Krieg out of the equation by applying a little pressure on his daughter. You and I are the only ones who have proven very hard to kill."

"Wh-what?!" Roluck stuttered.

"Henry." Elura pleaded, her wide red eyes trying to get her point across "Please don't do this!"

There was a tense moment of silence as the two watched me, waiting for my decision. I felt incredibly conflicted, but I looked deep into Elura's eyes and nodded. I'd made my choice.

"Roluck." I started, hardening myself to what was about to happen.

_Why me?_

"Henry, no!" He yelled, panicked.

_Why couldn't he bring Krieg?_

"Thank you." Elura said quietly, smiling.

"Roluck, keep your gun on her." I continued, my voice severe. "I'm trusting you. Don't make me regret it."

Her face went slack as I lifted my pistol, hobbling around to flank Elura.

"You're making the right choice, Henry." He answered. He flashed me an appreciative smile before his face became grim again. "Elura, drop the weapon, please. I don't want to shoot you."

She moved instantly, so fast that I could barely track her movements. She was going for Roluck, bounding diagonally to make her a very hard target to hit. She grabbed him by the neck and picked him up, forgetting all about me. She drew her fist back, gathering that blue energy around it as she prepared to strike.

I fired two rounds. The first one missed by inches, but the second one found flesh. It passed straight through her shoulder and ricocheted off of Roluck's armor. She cried out in alarm, dropping him. She turned to me and released a biotic ball of energy. I managed to dive out of the way before it could hit me and it exploded on the wall behind me.

Roluck was up, but she was already moving for the door. He fired a couple of rounds, but despite his accuracy, she was too damn fast. The door opened and I heard a biotic explosion out there. There was yelling and screaming as I hobbled to the door, exhausted. When the door opened, there were a pair of C-Sec officers on the ground, either dead or unconscious. I just barely got a glimpse of Elura vanishing around a corner.

"Go." I told Roluck, "I can't catch her like this."

He nodded and started chasing after her at a breakneck pace.

_She's one hell of an actor._ I mused, not at all happy with how any of this had turned out._ I made the right choice, sure, but look what has happened._

I groaned and pushed my fingers into my eyes as I staggered on ahead, pain lancing through my leg with every odd step I took. C-Sec officers turned around the corner and streamed past me, headed for their fallen comrades. I turned the corner and found myself in the main office. Roluck was at the elevator, head in hand and the other against the elevator door.

"She got away." He muttered when he saw me. "She's outbound on a small fighter, now. She'll undoubtedly double back and land elsewhere, then slip away into the crowds on the Citadel."

"Shit." I groaned.

"Henry." He started. I looked up at him, surprised to find a grim smile on his face. "Thanks for trusting me. I knew you would."

"Eh." I replied with a grin, "You wouldn't have brought me there, otherwise. You know I'd beat you if you tried to mutiny."

"Is that so?" He retorted, the smile still on his face. It dropped when he looked back at the elevator, head hanging. "Anyways...thanks. I'll call the rest of the team back to the transient barracks. I don't think Elura's coming back to kill us, since her main priority is survival right now."

"I'll head on down there." I told him.

The walk there was long and I couldn't help myself from glancing around and over my should to make sure Elura wasn't after me. I sighed when I made it to the transient barracks. I hoped we caught her, soon enough. I didn't want to have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my days, worrying if she'd surface years from now to put a bullet in my head.

The Corporal up front looked up as I entered the transient barracks complex.

"Staff Sergeant." He greeted, "You with the STT that called earlier?"

"Yes." I said, "I am."

He opened up the drawer in his desk and pulled out a keycard.

"Room 48." He told me, "Just let me know if you need anything else."

"You got it." I answered, turning to the left and entering the doorway. I found myself in a familiar hallway.

_I can't believe it._ I thought to myself when I ended up in front of the door. _This is the same room I got issued a month and some change ago after Eden Prime._

It felt like it'd been a lot longer than just over a month. I sighed and opened the door. Everything was still as it had looked last time. Small bed, small dresser, uncomfortable-looking sheets, the whole nine yards. I sat down on the bed, just thinking. When I woke up, things were going to go to hell. I knew it and so did the rest of the team. There would be no planning, because we had no idea what would happen. Only that it would happen.

There was a knock on my door within ten minutes. I opened it to find Lena there, holding my armor and my weapons. She looked tired, defeated. Her shoulders were slumped and she seemed sluggish.

"I...Roluck wanted you to know that you're not going to be taking watch today. You need the most rest of us all."

"I need to thank him for that." I told her.

"I heard about what happened with Elura." She said, "I think he still owes you a couple thanks. You should be thanking me, for carrying your damn impossibly heavy gear. Keelah, I though my arms were going to fall off before you opened that door."

"Stop complaining." I told her, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into the room. She dropped the gear on the ground next to the door and the door closed behind us.

"I went shopping today," She admitted, "while we were looking for Elura."

"And?" I asked.

"I can't wait for Omega." She muttered. "If it weren't for what's going to happen when we wake up, I'd take this damn mask off right now and show you my face."

She gently pushed me down on the bed. I let her.

"I could finally feel your skin, you'd finally be able to touch my body." She whispered, "I could finally-finally show you how I feel. I want you, Henry, I really do. I've never done this before. And it amazes me every day that you feel the same way. I wish we just had one more day before throwing ourselves into this storm."

She turned off the lights and I felt pressure on the bed as she laid down next to me. The bed was small, so there wasn't much room. I did the only thing I really could do with her suit on. I wrapped my arms around her stomach and pulled her in tight, knowing very well that I may not ever get to sleep again.

"You and me both." I told her. "I promise, if we make it through this, we'll be at Omega the next day."

"You act tough, but you're so soft." she joked.

"Shut up." I muttered, a smile on my face.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Lieutenant Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Lena'Zuril Vas Uline - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Mercenary**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**PFC Orren Kyril - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew**_


	20. Chapter 20

"Hey." A voice said, waking me out of my sleep. For the first time last night, I hadn't had the nightmares about Eden Prime. Even through her suit, Lena was warm.

The lights were on, but they were red, now. Emergency lighting. I looked up to see Roluck in the doorway. He didn't look the least bit bothered by the sleeping arrangement in this room.

I heard gunfire and screaming in the distance. I sighed as I sat up, Lena already sliding off the bed.

"It's time." Was all that Roluck said. "The Reaper has attacked and closed up the arms of the Citadel and the geth are overrunning the place. Shepard's here, taking care of the Spectre. We need to take care of everything else. The Team is gathering at the front lobby."

"You got it."I said. I leaped up and quickly attached my armor.

"I'm going to join the Team." Lena said quietly. "I'll meet you out there."

The door closed as I fitted on my new helmet. It, like the shoulder pad on my armor, was white. I smirked as I picked up my sniper rifle. I really had to name it, already.

"What about Angel?" I wondered aloud as I walked out into the hallway. When I got to the lobby, the rest of Zeta was waiting. I looked around, thinking that something was missing. I abruptly realized it was Elura. I was so used to her being here, that the team felt incomplete without her.

I looked at Roluck and nodded. I was ready to go.

"We're going to be staying in one team, with one odd man out." Roluck said, "Henry, you fit to fight?"

"My ear hurts like a bitch and I'm limping a little." I confessed, "But I'm still in this."

"Good to hear." He said, "We're going to be splitting down both sides of the Presidium. We're going to be working to secure civilians. Our main goal is to save as many people as we can. We also want to push to the Citadel Tower elevator and keep reinforcements from reaching the Council Chambers. Henry, we need you on the upper level of the Presidium. Reports are that those levels are clear, with geth focused on C-Sec officers on the main level."

"I'll get moving." I said.

"Henry-" Lena started, but I just looked back through the doorway and smiled.

"Whatever you have to say can wait until we finish this."

"Bosh'tet." She muttered.

I grinned and headed up through the wards. The elevators weren't necessary to get the wards, they just made things quicker. I found the stairs at the back of C-Sec and started limping up, Angel cradled in my arms. The sounds of explosions and gunfire was drawing close.

I got up to the top and immediately ran into a geth trooper firing away at a pair of C-Sec who were trying their best to stay behind a small bench they were using for cover. I snapped the pistol up and fired five rounds into the geth's head. With a whirring of electronics, it went down.

"Thanks!" One of the C-Sec officers yelled. I recognized him immediately. It was the same turian that had nearly arrested me when Risha got assaulted by the two Blue Suns.

"STT!" I yelled back, "We're trying to help evacuations! Got a team ready to push right on through to the Citadel Tower entrance."

"Understood!" He yelled. I saw stairs on the right and started walking up.

"This is Lieutenant Vether." Came Roluck's voice over the comms channel, "Corporal Shields, you read me?"

"Yes, sir." She answered, uncharacteristically adhering to rank. "I'm stirring up trouble around the area. The big motherfucker is sitting on the Citadel Tower. I'm the only ship inside the arms here, but he seems too busy to attack me. I'm avoiding him and picking off what dropships I safely can."

"And Corporal Krylin?" Roluck asked as I reached the top of the stairs. There was one long hallway that ran parallel to the stairs that looked down onto the Presidium main floor. Obviously, it had originally been built that way to admire the view, but it was also a sniper's dream.

"She departed on the shuttle, to provide fire for the ground battle." Allison reported. "General Toulius is on the other side of the Presidium, also trying to work his way to the Citadel Tower with a couple of the STTs. I can patch him in, if you'd like."

"Negative." Roluck answered, "Just let him know we're doing the same thing he is. I don't want too much crosstalk."

"Roger." She replied.

"Henry," Roluck asked, "What do you got for me?"

I looked through the scope. There was a lot of fighting between C-Sec and the geth, with civilians in the middle of most of the fights. The walkway I was on stretched all the way to the tower, which I estimated to be a half mile away. The geth ranged in size from the average trooper to sizes and shapes we'd never encountered.

There were bodies everywhere, though. Unfortunately, most of them were not geth. Men, women and children were scattered all over the place, some of them floating in the lakes. The trees had mostly been flattened and the beautiful architecture of the Presidium was scored and marked with gunfire and fire. I sucked in a breath, trying my best not to relive Eden Prime.

"It's bad." I told him, "We got C-Sec and geth everywhere, with civilians caught in between. There are hundreds of geth between us and the Citadel Tower and they're starting to overwhelm C-Sec. Lots of dead. The tower looks to be about a half mile away. I'll be able to cover the team the whole way, I think."

"Acknowledged." He said, "Any suggestions?"

"I saved a couple C-Sec officers." I told him, "I'd recommend you have them advance in time with you on the opposite side of the lakes. As you relieve pressure from the C-Sec officers, have them come to my side of the Presidium. That way, we can balance the odds and double down on our chance to push through."

"Not bad." He answered. "I'm coming in. Can you see the Reaper?"

I looked up to the Citadel Tower. Yeah, I could see the damn thing. It was massive in scale, easily over a mile long. A long, elongated body led down to a writhing mass of what could only be called tentacles. I felt the slightest bit of terror at the sight of it. I thought back to Eden Prime again.

"Y-yeah." I replied.

"Are you alright?"

I saw the rest of Zeta emerge from below me. They were moving perpendicular to me, to the other side of the lake. There were a pair of geth blocking their way, dug into the bridge. I sighted in on the barely visible back of the first one and took a second before firing. The geth took the hit to his shields, but the force made him stagger back from his cover. Roluck fired a pair of rounds that struck the geth in the head and ended it. Krieg circled around the side of the other one and fired his shotgun into it before it could move. The geth's midsection pretty much exploded into a bunch of little metal shards as it folded over and collapsed.

"Alright enough for that." I told him.

"Don't think about Eden Prime." He said, as Zeta moved around the corner and started to advance parallel to my position. "Focus on the now."

"Acknowledged." I said. I couldn't help but feel a surge of hope. We might just be able to pull this off.

Twenty meters ahead of them was a trio of C-Sec officers exchanging fire with a trio of geth, who were clearly winning the fight, from all the bodies around. I moved the sight to the geth in the back and was about to fire, when I saw something briefly shimmer. I paused for a moment, then it happened again, a little closer to the right. It was trying to flank the officers, whatever it was. I fired one round and saw sparks raise up from whatever I'd hit. I fired again, quickly. A geth with a shotgun suddenly materialized, crumpling to the ground.

"What the hell?!" Roluck yelled.

"Keep an eye out." I advised them, "Invisible geth with shotguns are running around."

"I noticed."

Zeta got behind cover and Lena started fooling with her omni-tool. That familiar orange drone appeared behind the geth, who turned to meet it. It exploded, throwing them all from cover. Errahe and Roluck both stood and finished the geth off. Roluck yelled something to the C-Sec officers and pointed to this side of the Presidium. They began to hustle to my side of the Presidium, where I could hear a fierce battle raging below me. They flanked whatever geth were being fought on the floor below me and began firing. They must've cleared the geth out, because they got back up and kept moving forward.

I needed to move up. I stood and began to move, when something slammed into my back, hard enough to send me sprawling to my stomach. I managed to cling onto Angel as I turned over.

Elura, wearing some sort of dark purple armor, was striding towards me.

"Roluck!" I yelled, "She's up here!"

"Who?!" He yelled back. I wasn't paying attention, though. As she stalked towards me, I pulled my pistol and began firing. She took cover by a bench, which allowed me to make my way to my feet. I put Angel away and ran.

I doubted I'd be outrunning her. I wasn't a strong runner to begin with and I was injured already. I just needed time.

"Elura's up here, Roluck." I told him, "I'm moving, but-"

There was a loud blast and I felt pain in my midsection. I stumbled over my feet, tripping and tumbling to the ground. I immediately rolled to the side and fired in the direction the shotgun blast had came. It was one of those stealthy geth. I just kept the firing up until the bastard was down.

Another of those goddamn blue balls of energy knocked the pistol clear out of my hands. It went spinning over the edge.

Elura stalked over, a smirk on her face. I stood, ready to face her.

"What's going on up there?" Roluck demanded. I heard what sounded like more fighting below my feet. I glared Elura down and waited for her to get close enough for me to hit her.

I knew how this was going to end. She had a couple hundred years on me, in terms of martial arts experience. I was bigger, but I knew I couldn't beat her. It didn't help that I was already beaten and bruised as it was.

She made the first move, as I predicted. That fist came up, glowing blue. I leaned back and managed to dodge it. As I swung back towards her, I lashed out with a fist and attempted to catch her one the rebound, but she merely moved her other arm around and blocked it. Then she slammed her fist into my armor, where I'd been hit by a shotgun blast not a minute before. I yelled as agony hit me again and again. She kept slamming her fist into that spot until the armor had literally caved in through my flesh. Her fist was a mess of blood when she drew it back.

I didn't think she expected me to lean back and then thrust my head forward, slamming my forehead into her face. She cried out and fell backwards, holding a broken nose. I had no doubt I'd probably broken her orbital bones as well.

And with that, I stumbled forward, covering the wound in my abdomen with a fist. I hoped I'd stunned her long enough to put some distance between us. That hope was abruptly dimmed when another Warp slammed into my back and sent me right back down on my face. I groaned as I hit the ground, flipping over to see Elura with her shotgun out.

There was a high-pitched whine next to us. We both looked over the railing to see the shuttle there. Elura's eyes widened. The shuttle began to open fire with its machine guns, forcing Elura to take cover. I heard her cry out as one of the bullets hit her.

"Get on!" Krylin yelled. I mustered up my strength and stood. I ran to the railing, planted a foot on it and jumped as hard as I could. I briefly saw the battle beneath me. Krieg had moved forward into a cluster of geth and was blowing them away with the Claymore. On the other end, a group of seven or eight C-Sec officers were making steady progress and slowly managing to overwhelm the geth with sheer numbers.

Krylin saw that I was going to miss the jump and listed the shuttle to the side. I landed on top with a heavy thud and looked up just in time to see Elura raise up again, her backup pistol in hand. At first I thought she was aiming at me, until she started firing directly into the glass of the cockpit. The shuttle suddenly lurched to the left, then started to slowly spin. I held my body low to the roof of the transport as the spin got faster.

"Henry!" I heard Lena scream.

The world turned into a blur and I was nearly thrown off as the shuttle suddenly stopped spinning and pitched to the side, descending slowly.

I looked up just in time to see the Citadel Tower entrance, before the shuttle slammed into the ground and began to roll. Before it could roll over on me, I let go. The inertia threw me off of the shuttle and slammed me into a low wall. I felt the breath driven out of me as the shuttle continued to roll, crushing a pair of geth before coming to rest up against the wall next to the elevator entrance to the Citadel Tower.

I groaned and managed to find my feet. Right before I went to all fours again, so dizzy I could barely stay even in that position. I managed to force myself up. I needed to move. I put weight on my leg, only to find that it had been re-broken from the landing.

"I'm at the Citadel Tower." I groaned into my thankfully operational microphone. I started to limp towards the shuttle.

"We're still pretty far out." Roluck reported, "What happened?"

"Elura ambushed me up there." I said, "She did a number on me. There's a large hole in my abdomen...shotgun wound...concussion. She shot the shuttle. I'm checking on Krylin."

"We're on our way." Roluck assured me. I reached the shuttle, which was currently upside down. I forced open the doors with great effort that I paid for with the wound in my gut. I was horrified to find Krylin on the floor (Or the ceiling, depending). She'd been hit four times around the chest and had bled out. The blue blood had even started leaking out of the open door.

I wasn't going to leave her behind, though. No. She was coming with me.

_Wherever I end up going._

I grabbed her under her arms and pulled, working my legs as much as I could and managing to drag her out of the shuttle. I surveyed the scene quickly.

The shuttle had conveniently blocked off one approach and left me with only one lane that the geth could approach through. And they were definitely approaching. I sat down on the ground and pulled out Angel. My savior and my guardian.

I counted over thirty of them. They were about to be within firing range. I thought back to Eden Prime. It had been so much like this. I hadn't been alone, though. I'd had a way to shield myself and fire at them.

"I'm sorry, Roluck." I whispered into the microphone, looking down at Krylin, who I'd propped up next to me. "There was nothing I could do. She's gone."

"I..." Roluck started, then faded off, silent. I heard gunfire on his end.

"I-I understand." He finally croaked, sounding defeated. "Stay alive, we're on our way."

"Don't rush." I told him, eying up the closing geth crowd. "'There are too many here. I doubt you'll be making it in time."

"Henry, no." He ordered.

There was nothing for it, though. The team couldn't feasibly make it here in time. All that was left for me was to take as many of the geth with me as I could. I bent and grabbed a grenade, the movement agitating the wound in my ribs and causing me to involuntarily hiss as I set it down next to me.

As the geth approached, I looked down and took stock of the wound in my side. It looked bad. I sighed and looked back up, raising Angel as I did so.

As I fired and destroyed the first trooper, I thought of Elizabeth. The sister who'd been robbed from our family way before her time. I thought of her courage, of her sacrificing one more day of life just so she could spend one more night with her family.

_I'll be joining her soon._ I thought grimly. Over my head, I could see the arms of the Citadel opening up. Alliance ships started to flood in, firing at the Reaper.

I lined up another shot at a shimmering field and was rewarded when a geth appeared where I'd fired, his head missing. Life wasn't fair. It never was. Krylin's body was proof of that. She'd died only a few days after we'd rescued her from two-year captivity. If anybody deserved to survive this, it was her. Yet here she was, a dead body sitting next to my almost-dead body.

Another shot and yet another trooper went down. With bloody, shaking hands I reloaded.

"I'm...I'm reloading." I reported into the microphone. Or at least, I thought I did. I didn't know, anymore.

I hoped mom and dad weren't crushed when they found out what happened to me. I wished I could talk to them one more time, tell them that if it had to end, this was as good a way as any.

I thought about Lena and cursed the galaxy that I'd never get to touch her, or never get to see her out of her suit. I thought of every conversation I had with her while I blew the head off of a geth who'd closed within firing range.

"Another one down." I murmured.

I was glad I got to meet Lena. Even if it were only for a month, I got to know the only woman in the galaxy who'd made my otherwise lonely existence something worth waking up to every day.

As I fired at another one of those invisible freaks and punched a hole in his chest, I smiled. If these were to be my finaly moments, I'd prefer my thoughts to be with her. As I reloaded, I realized that I wasn't even thinking of the picture she'd given me. I was thinking of her, with the suit on, of her tough girl attitude. I smiled wider, a smile that evaporated when one of the geth fired a three round burst at me. The first two rounds ricocheted off of my armor, but the third hit and lodged into my chest.

_It's okay._ I thought to myself.

"I can't feel anything anyways." I muttered.

"Henry." A soft voice said in my helmet. Lena.

Another shot, this one tearing a small chunk off of my neck but missing my carotid. I laughed. I couldn't feel a thing.

"I'm sorry." She said.

"I'm not." I told her. I looked around to find the geth closing in, coming to see if I was dead. As subtly as I could, I reached for the grenade. I pulled it into my body and pulled the pin. I held the spoon in, waiting for them to get close.

_It'll save some civilians from this madness._ I thought to myself, _It's worth it. Not like the outcome will be any different._

A geth materialized nearby and seemed to be looking me over for signs of life. A few more started to crowd in. I loosened my grip on the spoon and closed my eyes, the smile coming back.

There was a shotgun blast. I forced my eyes open just in time to see the geth thrown to the side. The geth turned to some threat on top of the overturned shuttle. Suddenly, the geth were being cut down from the back, as well.

The battle was over swiftly. Under the combined assault, the geth never stood a chance.

"Henry!" A rough voice yelled in the distance from that direction, "You better not have gotten your dumb ass killed, you son of a bitch!"

Krieg. Zeta had come for me. A trio of boots landed in front of me and I looked up to see my saviors.

General Toulious, Captain Anderson and, if I remembered correctly, Lieutenant Bailey.

"He looks like crap." Bailey said, looking down at me.

"Wouldn't you?" Anderson asked, bending down and taking stock of me. "You've done us proud, Staff Sergeant."

"The pin." I muttered, "The pin."

"Pin?" Anderson wondered, then looked down at my hands. "Holy shit."

He started looking around my feet and found the pin, which he gingerly inserted back into the frag grenade I held.

"We need to tend to his wounds." General Toulius said, holding an Avenger in one claw. He bent down, taking my wounds in. "There's a med clinic not too far from here. We can get you there."

"I need to go to the Council Chambers." Captain Anderson said, stepping into the elevator I'd been guarding. "I want to see you alive when I get back, Staff Sergeant."

I needed to stay awake, just a bit longer. Lena and Roluck. I needed to talk to them.

"Henry!" Someone yelled. I looked over General Toulius' shoulder to see Lena incoming. She knelt down next to General Toulius. "Keelah, I'm so sorry you got left here alone."

"Henry." Roluck said, stepping closer. He caught sight of Krylin and stopped.

"Sorry." Was all I could say.

"It...wasn't your fault." He answered, his mandibles and eyes unmoving as he stared at her. "She died honorably. Now, we need to worry about you."

"There's a med clinic here." Lieutenant Bailey said, "I saw you rescue a couple of medics here. Once that group gets over here, we'll get him patched up. First, we gotta get him there."

"And you damn well better scrape through." Lena urged, her glowing eyes staring into mine. Even with her helmet on, I could feel her emotion. She was torn between anger and relief. "We've got quite the trip to Omega planned, if you recall."

"You know Gerrard," Krieg grunted, scooping me into his arms in what was decidedly the most embarrassing moment of my life, "Just once I'd like to leave one of these missions without carrying you."

My own crazed laughter accompanied me into unconsciousness.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Lieutenant Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Lena'Zuril Vas Uline - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Mercenary**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew**_


	21. Chapter 21

It'd been two weeks since the Battle for the Citadel. In that time, Captain Anderson had been 'promoted' to Councilor Anderson. He'd come by and filled me in on the details on the Reapers from a combination of Commander Shepard's data and the data we'd pulled from the geth over Tiptree.

The Reapers were not starships, exactly. They were more like incomprehensible sentient beings. Their only desire seemed to be the destruction of all advanced life in the galaxy. The name of the Reaper that had attacked the Citadel was Sovereign, who'd been left behind by the other Reapers so he could activate the Citadel and let the other tens of thousands of Reapers through. What was worse was when Anderson had informed me that Sovereign's demise only slowed their plans. Following that news, he'd informed me that, even worse, the Reapers had been doing it for millions of years, with the all-powerful Protheans being their last victims. I felt a lot of hopelessness after our talk.

I'd come out of the hospital a mess. I was still wearing bandages all over my lower body. The impact from the crash had broken three of my ribs, on top of the one that had re-broke. The shot to my chest had passed through without taking anything important, as did the round that tore a piece out of my neck. When I'd looked in a mirror, I'd had to resist the urge to vomit. My leg had broke again, as well. The worst wound, by far, was the damage to my abdomen. My liver had been nearly obliterated and parts of my intestines had been perforated. The only thing that had saved me was the armor staving off the bleeding. After some reconstructive surgery, I'd been expected to make a full recovery.

I was awarded with another Alliance Cross, one that I didn't feel like I earned. This commendation had been for "Guarding the entrance to the Citadel Tower after sustaining severe injuries so that Sovereign could be destroyed by another Alliance operative." The Council (Which Anderson was now a part of) had personally awarded me the award.

Allison was quite the hero, from what I understood. She'd picked off six of those geth dropships to prevent them from dropping geth all over the wards and making the battle twice as hard. She was presented with the Alliance Valor medal, our most prestigious award, for her completely voluntary actions in the fight. During the awards ceremony with the Alliance soldiers here and Zeta team, she'd asked me to pin it to her uniform. I'd proudly done so, smiling the whole time.

I looked over the ruined Presidium as a turian Colonel finished his speech in front of the Citadel Tower. The speech had been a standard-issue speech, used for personnel he'd never met. Her family was there. My mother and father were also here, figuring they'd come along since they were visiting anyways.

Roluck was silent through the whole thing, his gaze fixated at the small statue that'd been placed in front of the lake for her. Because she was a hero. She'd battled in several engagements over the Presidium that rescued dozens of C-Sec officers, allowing them to make pushes in several key locations and drive off the geth.

When the Colonel finished, I hobbled up to the podium quietly. I hadn't expected to make a speech, but she deserved better. Everyone looked at me in surprise.

"I...ah...I'm not good at speeches." I admitted. "I hadn't planned to come up here, but I was the last person to see Corporal Krylin and figured I should say something."

I looked behind me at the memorial. Then I turned and looked back at the group there.

"She was a hero." I assured them, trying to fight down the tears I was feeling. "I wouldn't be here today if she hadn't put her life on the line and rescued me. She saved countless C-Sec officers on her way to me. More important than that, she was a good person. We only had a few conversations, but her unwavering dedication to her duty astounded even me."

I sighed.

"It's not fair." I said, the words more to myself. "She didn't deserve her fate. And...I wish I'd gotten to know her more before she sacrificed herself for me. Thank you."

I stepped down from the podium, staring at the ground in front of me. It was hard not to burst into tears, right now. When I returned to the group, I felt someone grab my shoulder and squeeze. I looked up to see my father, his eyes glassy as he stared out at the destruction.

After the ceremony, Councilor Anderson pulled my family and I aside.

"Staff Sergeant." He said, "I've got news for you."

"What is it, sir?" I asked.

"No need for 'sir', anymore." He said, "To you, it's just 'Anderson'. I find myself in the difficult position of fighting the Council on the Reaper threat. I've decided to 'consolidate' the STTs. As such, I'm 'dissolving' Team Zeta until a time when I need you all again."

"But...Anderson..." I started, aghast at the news.

"I know." He answered, nodding. "You want to be with your comrades. I understand. This threat, though, is bigger than any one of us. Which is why I want you to remain on the Citadel. You'll be under my command and my command only."

"What will I be doing, Anderson?" I asked, a little more content now that I knew that I wouldn't be getting stuck in some colony command.

"Officially," He said, "You'll be attached to an Alliance training unit on the unit will be responsible for training new recruits for the Alliance Marines."

"We have plenty of training sites intended for just that." Dad pointed out.

"Which is why, unofficially, this training unit will be training militias." Anderson continued. "I'm talking entire companies of militia. From Earth, from colonies and from stations. I will also be expecting you to train up personnel who will be down in their respective communities, teaching the local militias."

"I can do that." I answered with a slow nod.

"Does the Council know about this?" My dad asked, cocking his head in curiosity. Anderson looked at him for a moment and then shook his head.

"They know that we're training recruits." He said, "That's it."

"You have whatever support the Fourth Fleet can provide." My father assured Anderson, holding his hand out. Anderson shook it, smiling.

"Staff Sergeant," He said, "I want you to report to my office a week from now. If I remember correctly, you have a pressing engagement at Omega."

I grinned as he walked away.

I spent the rest of the day with my family and my team. We all said our farewells as Lena and I boarded a ship. The trip took three hours, which was more than enough time to get some good sleep in. When we reached Omega, I was surprised to find that an armed turian escorted us to our room, courtesy of Aria T'Loak. The room was in a big, luxurious hotel that was owned by-big surprise- Aria. It sat at the edge of the station, with an unobscured view of the asteroid field beyond.

When we entered the room, I looked around. It was surprisingly luxurious. The bed was big enough to fit five people (or seven cold soldiers) and there was an actual dresser and large television in the corner. The bed was (embarrassingly enough) purple, with a ton of fluffy pillows and blankets. A bathroom was next to the front door and I could see that it was made entirely of marble.

The room smelled very sterile and I'd taken the precautions before-hand. I'd washed at least three times before getting on the ship, then self-sterilized before we left the ship.

"This is one of only three rooms in this hotel that can be used by quarians." The turian informed us, "You must have some friends in high places."

On that note, he closed the door behind him and it made a soft hiss. A small haze started to form through the air and I stiffened.

"It's just a decontamination mist." Lena assured me, wrapping her hand around my forearm. I nodded and relaxed. I started to strip off my clothes, figuring it'd be better if I was nearly naked while being decontaminated. I left my briefs on and was surprised to see Lena look me up and down when I turned back to her.

"Hm." She said in a mock disappointed tone. "I guess you'll have to do."

I chuckled as a synthetic voice said:

"Decontamination complete."

"I-I suppose this is it, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah." I told her. She reached up to her mask hesitantly and placed her fingers on it. She didn't move, her body tense. I put my hands on hers and she started moving again. There was a click and a hiss as her mask came off. She still seemed afraid to remove it, but I gently forced her hands down from her face and she brought the mask with them.

I looked into her face, for the first time since I'd met her. The picture truly didn't do her justice. I reached up and touched soft, pale violet skin that stretched over an angular, beautiful face. Her full lips were of similar color, with perfect teeth underneath. She was glancing down with beautiful, glowing silver eyes. Fine black eyebrows intersected with black markings that led up into a cascade of black hair that trailed down into her suit. I cupped my hand up under her chin and pulled her head up until her eyes were locked with mine. I gave her the most earnest smile I had, anything to assure her that everything was alright.

And then she leaned in and kissed me, pressing her body against mine hungrily as she backed me up to the bed. I fell over onto it, feet still on the floor, as she backed off and began peeling off portions of her suit.

"You're pretty good at that." I commented. She smiled.

"I did some research." She answered as she took the rest of her helmet off. "Figured out how it works."

It was a beautiful sight as she disengaged her shoulder pads to reveal slim, but strong shoulders under it. I helped her take the back off as she released the chest and arms. She turned to me to reveal small, firm breasts and a very well toned core that I'd honestly expected. I cupped my hands over her breasts and bent in again. She moaned and pressed her lips into mine again as we both fell to the bed. As I returned the kiss for all I was worth, I felt her sliding off the bottom portion of her suit, until bare legs met mine. Everything felt the same

There were differences, though. Her hips were incredibly wide, especially compared to her waist. It was hard not to notice that she had three fingers and two toes, though it didn't particularly bother me. And there was the backward bowing of her calves.

And yet, none of that could possibly dim how beautiful she was.

I took my time, running my hands down her body as we simply reveled in the feel of each other. She moaned happily, her face showing nothing but bliss.

"Keelah..." She muttered, as she played her finger around the ragged wound in my abdomen. "You came so close."

That remark sent something off in my head. It was a thought, a thought that had nagged me the whole way here.

"Before we do this." I said, as she started to lean in. She stopped and looked at me, her face apprehensive. "I'm...sorry, that I can't give you more."

"I was just kidding earlier." She assured me, relief spreading over her face.

"It's not that." I told her, "It's going to be constant death and destruction. Even now, I'll be leaving you for possibly years. I can't give you a peaceful and stable life."

"Henry." She said, her musical voice amused. "The entire galaxy will be in for the fight of its life soon enough. Nobody can give me peaceful and stable."

She slid her hand lower and forced the briefs down. She smiled as she grasped me and I did my best not to let out an unmanly moan. I was supposed to be a pro at this. She straddled me, her hips over mine, as she teasingly began to lower herself as slow as possible.

"When this week is over." She started, then the words punctuated by a guttural moan as she slowly sank down onto me.

This time, I let out a gasp myself. I couldn't help it. It took every fiber of my being not to grab her and just take her as roughly as I could. She looked back up at me with a serious silver gaze, "When this week is over, I can wait. If you can."

"I love you, Lena." I confessed, abhorred that the words had come out of my mouth. I reached up and looped my arm around her neck, gently pulling her towards me.

"I love you, too." She said, leaning back in, glowing eyes warm.

"Bosh'tet." She added.

And for a moment, when I told her that I loved her, it wasn't about the sex. As she pressed her mouth hungrily to mine, I didn't think about the impending slaughter of the galaxy or the stint back on Earth.

For that moment, there was nothing in this galaxy but us.


	22. Chapter 22

**Mass Effect 2 - Admiral Lena Zuril vas Peacemaker nar Rayya, Migrant Fleet Marines**

I smiled behind my mask as I stepped out of my transport and into the warm Tuchunka sun. Krieg had procured me the rights to do business here, by virtue of my actions when I'd saved his daughter two years ago. Most of Tuchunka apparently wasn't welcoming to a quarian, but even Krieg's clan leader had admitted that I was a special exception.

This place...the first thing that came to mind was "Sand". It was like one big desert planet. The sun shone down and made the surrounding structures (Or more accurately, rubble) seem to shine with a harsh light that pained my eyes. Everything was dirty and every building in sight was just a patch of rubble. Here and there, I saw long trails of dust and sand reaching to the sky that denoted the path of some sort of krogan vehicle, but it was otherwise a quiet and harsh desert covered in ruins.

After the events on the Citadel and a rather skillfull showing during my test (Which the Admiralty Board had intentionally tried to fail me on), I'd been promoted to the head of the Migrant Fleet Marines. Since I wasn't in charge of the fleets, this meant I could travel as I wished. As such, I'd been unofficially dubbed "The Fleet Ambassador". At my own behest, the Admiralty Board had been willing to change my ship designation to "Peacemaker" instead of "Iline."

My responsibilities were simply to direct the Migrant Fleet Marines. I didn't particularly have to lead from the front, I was more responsible for their continued operations. My suit had also been changed to something more appropriate for an Admiral. It was now completely black, instead of the black and dark red from before.

Since the name change, I'd been socially avoided. Especially when it surfaced that I was with a human. My smile widened as I thought of the week after the Citadel. I'd been sick for two months. Even with all the downside that had come with it, it was worth it.

Two years had passed since that week. Henry and I exchanged messages over the extranet every so often, but I missed him. Two days ago, I'd received a message from the Councilor in charge of Henry.

"Admiral vas Peacemaker," He had said, "We're getting Zeta back together. I find myself increasingly frustrated with the Council's unwillingness to prepare for this rapidly approaching threat. I've heard reports of a Reaper about and I need Zeta to kill it so we can finally get the Council on board and get the galaxy ready. I need you at Tuchunka in two days time, where you will meet with Staff Sergeant Gerrard and Urdnot Krieg. You'll travel back to the Citadel, where Captain Vether and Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel will be waiting."

There'd been a moment of silence, then he'd followed that up with,

"We've got a new ship for Zeta. It's fully stocked and ready to go. Even got the original turian crew back. It's custom made for the team, with even a decontamination room for you. No name, though. We wanted you all to decide. I also didn't tell Gerrard you'd be coming."

I'd immediately told the Admiralty Board that I had to go and had procured a ship. I'd also managed to get them to send our engineering crew from before right over to the Citadel. They had already messaged me to tell me that they'd met up with Captain Vether, who had put them to work on a new ship. They hadn't told me what the name of the ship was.

Krieg stood at the landing pad, near a pair of krogan who were just milling about. He was quite intimidating, wearing black and gold armor, now. The Claymore shotgun that Henry had made him was still at his waist. Other than that, he was unarmed. When his orange gaze met me, his gnarled face split open to reveal a toothy grin.

"Lena!" He yelled in his gravel-covered voice, striding towards me. The other two krogan glanced at me, then stared. I ignored them and walked forwards and extended my hand out, so I could receive a crushing grip in return. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise." I replied. I fell in behind him as he started walking to the door. He glanced at the two krogan who had not stopped staring at me since I landed, disdain coloring their eyes.

"What the hell are you looking at, whelps?" He growled to both of them. They hurriedly turned back to each other, continuing their conversation. I smiled as we continued through the door to what looked to be a tank of some sort parked in the desert. It had six wheels and a gun up top.

"C'mon." Krieg said, "Henry got permission from Wrex to train a company of humans here with a few of our warriors."

"That's pretty progressive." I hedged as he opened a hatch on the lower side of the vehicle. He climbed up into it, with me right behind him. The inside of the vehicle wasn't as cramped as I'd expected it to be, with seats lining the hull. Krieg pulled himself up front and started driving this beast. I could feel every bump and jolt as I hung onto a bar up top.

"Yeah." He finally answered, "Wrex is trying to reach out to the other species. He figures we've been so insular for so long that it's going to be the death of us. The more familiar we get with them, the more sympathetic they might be towards our plight. Plus, he knows what's at stake with the Reapers. We're the strongest in the galaxy, but we will not win this fight alone. Humans are a good first step. There's no ancient bad blood and only gain with them. Asari might be next on the list."

"This Wrex sounds a lot like you." I observed as we plowed over a particularly big hill that lifted me off the ground momentarily.

"He's appointed his idiot brother second-in-charge." Krieg said. "I'm trying to argue him into placing me as second in command. If Wreav takes over, there will be a lot of things that will be going wrong. Wrex wants me for second-in-command, but it could only happen if his brother's dead. And even here, you can't just kill your brother for being stupid."

"I hope you do get put in charge." I told him earnestly. "The galaxy needs more people like you."

"And you." He replied, glancing back at me. "Miss vas Peacemaker. The quarian are even more insular than the krogan. It's going to take a united galaxy to beat the Reapers. People like you and me and Wrex are in short supply."

"So how is Henry getting all these recruits?" I wondered, "They can't be telling them the truth."

"They're being trained as part of an anti-piracy force." Krieg replied, understanding what I meant immediately, "Councilor Anderson is bringing them all in under that guise."

"I see." I said.

"I'm excited about this next mission, though." Krieg continued. "Wrex has officially made me the ambassador for Clan Urdnot, which gives me the right to treaty with other species and clans under their name and go pretty much wherever I want."

"Good." I replied as he brought the tank to a stop. I felt my heart pounding so hard I thought it would kill me. It'd been two years and I honestly had no idea if he felt the same way. He said he did, several times, but that was on the extranet. Now, this was in person.

"And I'm sure I'll see plenty of fighting." Krieg finished, grinning at me. "Now let's go."

He got out of the driver's seat and opened the hatch back up. He slid out and I followed him, feeling anxiety nagging at me. Anxiety about Henry.

While I was by no means an insecure woman, I'd been around the galaxy a couple times. A man like Henry would attract a lot of different women and it'd be so easy for him to slip up. For all I knew, he'd found someone else. Someone more suited to his needs and...well...species.

Despite my fear, I felt a grin pulling at the corner of my mouth. After I'd become Admiral, there had been quite a number of men trying to earn my affections. I hadn't led them on, making it very clear that I was not interested. Most had gotten the message and scampered off. A few, well...

_I've certainly learned to have a way with men._

The scene in front of me was as impressive as it was humorous. There were a couple of krogan milling about, along with a few Alliance personnel. They were spread out with one each per platoon. All of them were yelling at their respective platoons, each of which was making its way through ruins and trenches in some sort of simulated battle.

"Keep your goddamn head down, Peterson!" I heard a familiar voice yell. I turned to see a very familiar figure standing on the edge of some ruins. He was yelling at a human who had looked up from cover too long. I noticed there was no krogan instructor next to him.

Staff Sergeant Henry Gerrard had an assault rifle cradled in one arm, pointed skyward. The standard issue Avenger, from the looks of it. He was of average height, for a human, though he was built very solid. Thick arms stuck out from the short sleeves of the Alliance off-duty shirts. There was a network of lines on the right side of his short black hair coupled with a missing chunk of ear where he'd been hit by a geth bullet (Not to mention the ensuing surgery). Thick veins stood out from his neck as he started yelling.

I felt the slightest flutter in my chest at the sound of the voice, even if it was currently barking orders and yelling. Even from behind, I had to admit that he looked good. I did my best to calm down the rather pleasantly uncomfortable feeling that was stirring in my lower body.

_Two years._ I bemoaned. _That amazing week and I've had to wait for two years._

"Six enemies!" He yelled, pointing in front of the platoon, "To the front and dug in!"

_They'd be best off having two squads pin them down and having the other slide around to the side to try and flank them._

The observations were made in moments, something I had grown used to after planning and attending dozens of ops in the last two years.

As the platoon started to move, I looked at Krieg.

"He's taking this pretty seriously." I said, commenting on his uncharacteristically angry demeanor.

"He has to." Krieg grunted. "The other krogan didn't take him seriously at first."

"So now they do?"

"He headbutted the first one." Krieg answered. "The second got to see all of his scars."

I smiled. That sounded more like Henry. I idly wondered if I could get the Admiralty board to agree to something like this. Then I realized it wouldn't happen. Our main power was our fleet, not our Marines. Training more Marines was useless.

"Fuck it!" Henry yelled, gesturing into the ruins angrily, "You're dead, Peterson! Enemy fire cut you down! Evans! What do you do?!"

"I-" A man's voice answered uncertainly, "uhhhh"

"You took too long, now you're dead!" Krieg yelled, stomping over and pointing down into the ruins. "Uroon!"

"Second squad!" a krogan voice answered, "Circle to the right and try to flank them! We'll increase the fire and keep them suppressed."

"You're damn right!" Henry yelled. He looked up at the other instructors and seemed to sigh. He put a whistle to his lips and blew it. The sound rang through the air and everyone stopped. Slowly, a group of dirty humans and krogan made their way out of the trenches.

_They look like they just came out of an actual battle._ I noted.

Truly, everybody was covered in sweat and grime and looked completely exhausted. I looked on the bright side, though. If this was going to be the quality of every militia group, the Reapers would have a nasty surprised when they found entire groups of civilians that were just as well-trained as Alliance Marines.

"Staff Sergeant needs to get laid." I heard one of the men grumble mutinously. I laughed quietly, leaning against a broken down pillar and interested in hearing what he had to say. His back was to me as the troops seated themselves in front of him. I imagined that he made one hell of an intimidating figure. Though young and not the biggest guy, he was missing part of his ear and had a piece missing of his neck on the other side. I wondered if he'd ever thought of getting himself patched up? I knew there was technology out there. Maybe he just liked it. I certainly did.

_Not the only thing I like about him, of course._ I thought to myself, smiling. _Keelah, get ahold of yourself. I know it's been two years, but you're an Admiral, now._

The instructors lined up behind them, the five of them looking stern and unforgiving.

"You're making good progress." Henry said, his tone as gravelly as always. "We've come a long way from where we started."

I noticed that every single eye wasn't on him, but on me. I tried my best to subdue my rolling stomach and squelch my excitement as I started walking towards the group. The stares grew more curious and slightly hostile. Both expressions were completely familiar to me.

"We need people to think for themselves, not just take orde-am I boring everyone?!"

"Staff Sergeant." One of the krogan said, "What the hell is a quarian doing here?"

I watched with a bit of wicked amusement as Henry immediately straightened up like his spine had been flattened. He slowly looked over his shoulder and saw me coming for him. His eyes, which had always reminded me of the blue oceans of Rannoch I'd always seen on the vids, widened exponentially and his mouth sagged open a bit. I laughed aloud, maybe a bit nervously. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was impressed that he knew me so well that he could tell who I was with my new colors.

In an instant, he composed himself, but a small smile graced his thin lips. I knew he couldn't see my face, but I smiled anyways.

_Nothing's changed._ I realized within a split-second, immensely relieved. _Thank the Ancestors._

"Admiral." He greeted quietly. I couldn't help but notice that he'd changed a little since the last time I'd seen him. Besides being a little bigger, he also seemed to look a lot more tired. There were dark circles under his eyes that told the story of many a sleepless night. He just generally looked more...haggard.

"Admiral?" One of the humans, a female, asked.

"This is Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Peacemaker." He introduced to the crowd. "She's the woman in charge of the Migrant Fleet Marines and was one of Special Tasks Team Zeta's action team."

"Were you there during the Battle of the Citadel?" A younger-looking human asked. Her face showed such eagerness and a little bit of awe, much to my discomfort.

"I was." I confirmed. How could I forget? that image of Henry passed through my head. In his blue and white armor, covered in blood that was mostly his. Two holes in his armor that were just letting the blood pour and his abdomen a mess. He'd sat Krylin next to him and I still remember the grenade he held in his hands. I even remembered the insane babbling of the man right after the crash. I dusted the thoughts away.

_Not something I need to dwell on._

"And what, exactly, can a little suit rat like you do?" One of the suited krogan growled.

Suit-rat. A name I'd heard dozens of times around the Citadel. From a bunch of narrow-minded politicians who didn't know any better. To hear it from a krogan, who should've known better than to discount my combat experience, was extremely insulting.

I felt my blood boil and looked at Krieg. He nodded to me, probably guessing what I wanted to do. I strode towards the krogan, who started to laugh uproariously. Clearly, he was not impressed. I lashed out with my foot, springing a little bit off of the back foot to provide more power. My foot slammed into his face and knocked the top heavy krogan onto his back. I didn't draw the foot away, though. I placed my foot on his neck and pulled my shotgun out. Nobody moved as I placed the tip of the shotgun right under the plate on the top of his head.

His eyes widened with fear and I heard a collective groan from the krogan audience. The plate was taboo, for them. I leaned in until my face was only a few feet from his.

"Ask the geth." I instructed him, before putting the shotgun back and walking back to stand next to Henry. He was smiling.

Krieg let out a laugh and said, "Uleng, you have a lot to learn. Whelp."

"Take ten minutes, men." Henry ordered them, "Dig into your rations, I know we haven't eaten in the last six hours."

I was impressed. That these civilians and recruits hadn't eaten in so long and hadn't said anything yet reflected well on him and the instructors.

Henry and I retreated to a secluded part of the ruins, away from the gazes of everyone else.

"It's good to see you, Lena." He said, looking anxious. It nearly bothered me how alike we were when it came to the romantic stuff. We were both idiots. "It's been way too long."

"It has." I agreed, not sure where to go from here or how to ask.

"I...I've been thinking of you." Henry muttered, seeming fixated at the ground. It was rare to see him embarrassed.

Unable to contain myself any longer, I threw my arms around him and drew him into a tight embrace. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me tight to him. Yet again, I wished this damn helmet wasn't in the way. I could've kissed him. I felt like it was only appropriate, right now.

Finally, after a few moments, we parted. He didn't remove his hands from my waist, though. I couldn't keep the grin away as I looked up into his eyes.

"Two years." He said with a laugh. "Can't believe that I've held out that long."

_Him and his jokes._

"Really?" I asked, humoring him.

"There were some pole dangers on Omega." He admitted, looking at the ground. "It was tempting."

I punched him in the shoulder and he grinned.

"Bosh'tet." I cursed, wishing he could see my smile.

"So why are you here?" He asked.

"Krieg didn't tell you?

"No." he answered, shaking his head.

"Councilor Anderson wants us all to get back together." I told him, "He says there's a Reaper wandering around the galaxy. Possibly a vanguard, like Sovereign, but he's not sure. He says he has an asset working on the colony disappearances right-"

"Shepard." He said with a nod.

That wasn't right. Shepard was dead. We'd had a quarian crying about it for a week back at the Fleet.

"Shepard's dead." I told him.

"Sure." He answered with a knowing smile.

_He clearly knows something I don't._

I decided to let that line of inquiry drop.

"Either way, he wants Zeta back together." I told Henry. "Roluck, Errahe and the original crew are waiting back at the Citadel. and we got ourselves a new ship."

"I liked the Peacemaker." He muttered, disappointed.

"I'm sure this one's better." I assured him.

His face darkened.

"Have we heard anything about Elura?"

I could feel my mood sliding backwards.

"He didn't say anything about her." I told him evenly, "I know Roluck's been kind of..."

"Obsessed." Henry agreed quietly. "He mentions her in every message he sends me."

"We can figure this all out when we get to the Citadel." I told him, "When can you leave?"

"Now." He said, "If Councilor Anderson wants this to happen. the instructors here are more than capable enough and the Alliance Marines will bring the recruits back. I just need to let the instructors know and grab Krieg."

"Okay." I told him, "I'll wait here."

He turned to leave, then he turned back to me, his finger in the air as if he had a question.

"I don't suppose we can stop for a day or two over on Omega?"

I grinned. I wished we could.

_Keelah,_ I thought to myself, _it's all so hard with this suit. We're going to have to wait for a while._

"Councilor's orders." I told him, unable to keep the smug tone out of my voice. "But if I remember correctly, the Councilor said something about my room having decontamination protocols."

I could see his mouth hang open as he understood what I was implying.

"You get where I'm going with this?"

"Yes." He nodded. The he smirked and added, "Ma'am."

"Bosh'tet." I called him again, affectionately.


	23. Chapter 23

I looked around the Presidium idly when we stepped out of the elevator. Things had apparently gotten right back to normal after the attack. The glittering lakes, the beautiful vegetation and the incredible architecture were the same as they'd been before the attack. I wondered to myself if any of these people felt less secure than they had before the geth had assaulted the Citadel.

One thing was for certain: between Krieg and Henry, people gave us a very wide berth. I had no idea if people actually knew who the two of them were, but both were certainly intimidating enough to repel the average bystander.

There was idle chatter everywhere and I couldn't help but notice a few people muttering in my direction. I shook my head as we walked. Clearly, some things hadn't changed after the attack.

_Idiots. _I thought to myself, _I helped defend the Citadel and might have even saved one or two of them and they're still so bigoted towards me?_

I calmed down and allowed my anger to bleed out of me as I concentrated on Henry. I really wanted to just tackle him right now, throw off all our clothes and replay the week we had two years ago. The only thing that was making it bearable was that I was reasonably sure he was having roughly the same thought. He glanced back at me and shot me a quick smile.

_Oh yeah._ I thought to myself, _He's thinking the same thing._

I was surprised when he led us into a restaurant.

The restaurant was very nice and very big. I noticed all kinds of different foods being carried around on platters. The servers were composed of a variety of species, except for krogan and quarian. At first, I was entirely confused until I heard all the voices. I looked across the restaurant to see a bunch of turians and a bunch of quarians sitting together at a table. I recognized all of them as the crew of the Peacemaker. At the head of the table sat Roluck.

Much like Henry, Roluck seemed very tired. I wasn't as familiar with the signs of exhaustion in turians, but his shoulders seemed to slump a little more and his dark eyes had a sort of resignation behind them. His black face was still adorned with his red clan markings and he was still wearing his old black and red armor. I had to get him to get something new one day. He also needed a new visor, as the orange one he had was an old model.

"Reservation?" A salarian server asked, eying Krieg nervously.

"My friends!" Roluck yelled, standing up and striding over. His face had brightened immeasurably as he approached.

"We're with him." Krieg explained.

"Henry," Roluck said, "How're you doing, you tough son of a bitch?"

Roluck seized Henry by the hand and they both shook, with Henry grinning widely. I still didn't know how humans shook hands with all of those fingers. I remember speaking to Roluck about him a couple times before the Battle of the Citadel. Roluck had told me that Henry had won a lot of respect from him, especially due to his willingness to fight for species that nobody else would step out of line for. After Elura tried and failed to persuade Henry to kill Roluck, they both held each other in incredibly high esteem.

I was glad to see that Roluck was still happy to see Henry. I was concerned that there would be a level of animosity there, due to Henry's unfortunate part in Corporal Krylin's death. She'd died in the process of saving Henry's life.

"Krieg." He acknowledged, shaking the krogan's hand.

"Good to see you, you mangy bird." Krieg grunted. Roluck merely laughed, then turned his attention to me.

"And nice to see you still kicking around." He told me. I shook his hand, smiling behind the mask.

Roluck looked around at us all.

"Come join us." He told us, "I know where the rest of the crew is, so we have some time to waste."

We followed him to the table and I saw three chairs that he'd left empty. I greeted every member of the crew before I sat down. I had idly been considering that instead of making me the lead for the engineering team, simply promoting one of the engineers to that spot and letting me tend to my assautl duties full time. I was thinking that it might not be a bad idea for the turian crew to do the same. I'd bring it up with Roluck.

"There's a lot to do before we get to the ship." He said, "For now, let's just relax and enjoy some food. It's been a couple years since I've seen all of you."

I was surprised that such an upscale place was serving quarians. Then again, I was pretty sure that STT Zeta was a lot more well know around the galaxy, now. Invoking our name probably brought some weight with it.

I ordered some of the berry paste they had at the top of the menu. I felt a little bit bad, because I knew that Roluck was probably paying for it all. Then again, Roluck was a Captain now and could more than likely afford it. Henry ordered a steak. I could never figure out what humans loved about meat. It wasn't as delicious as fruits were and it had way too much protein for quarians. Then again, it might explain exactly how humans got so big.

"It's truly good to see you all again." Roluck told us, "I've been at my wits end with the Heirarchy. They refuse to believe anything I've tried to put in front of them. The Reapers are coming and I can't do a damn thing about it. And then there's Elura, who I can't manage to track down."

"Sir," One of the turians said, an older-looking one with a grey face and white facepaint, "Should we be discussing this here?"

"While I usually don't make it a habit of discussing things like this at a public place, Sergeant Valin," Roluck said, looking at the turian, "The galaxy needs to know this threat is coming. We've all seen it and we all know what happens if nobody is prepared. So if I piss off a few politicians because I'm running my mouth, then so be it."

The turians went quiet at this. I knew that they were a highly militaristic culture, where every order was to be obeyed to the letter. A turian commander that didn't follow rules to the letter was certainly an unusual sort.

"Admiral," Risha said, looking at me and clearly changing the subject, "I'm glad to see you again. I know it's been hard on the Fleet."

"Thanks, Risha'Zun." I replied, "I won't pretend I haven't been kind of an outcast because of...well, you know."

Henry looked up from the menu at this.

"Because of me?" He wondered.

I thought of lying to him. I didn't want him to know that he was one of the reasons I was so heavily avoided at the Migrant Fleet. But then, I didn't make a habit out of lying.

"Partially." I answered.

"Wait," one of the Turians said, looking confused, "So you two were..."

"Yes."' I answered immediately. No point in leaving the crew wondering. I knew that my fellow quarians already knew. The turians apparently didn't like to gossip, so it was no surprise that they hadn't heard.

The turians all gave each other strange looks, which went unnoticed by Henry, but not by me.

"Are you two still..." Risha asked, then stopped herself. I could tell from the body language that she was embrarassed at having asked. I knew quarian body language a far sight better than I did turian. I knew turian body language better than humans. A lot of Henry's expressions and body language were still beyond my ability to understand, so I just did my best to guess at what he was going for.

Henry and I looked at each other and a grin spread over his face. That grin, at least, was something I always understood. It was one part mischievous and two parts honest joy.

"Definitely." He admitted without a second thought.

I felt myself getting pleasantly uncomfortable and forced myself to calm down. Two years had been a long time and now he was sitting right across from me. It was nearly torture.

"How's Bikir, Krieg?" I asked.

Krieg smiled widely.

"My daughter is doing fine." He told me. "She just killed her first Varren last week."

"Tore it apart with that Katana." Henry agreed.

"You were there?" I asked.

"Of course he was." Krieg said, "I admit that I may have forced him to come with me on the hunt. I figure if he helped me save my daughter's life, he'd damn well be there for her first hunt."

"And I assume you two killed a Thresher Maw?" One of the turians asked.

Krieg and Henry laughed. I noticed they didn't answer the question.

The rest of the meal was pretty uneventful, with conversation running between everyone. It seemed like the turians had just gotten here, as they were still catching up with the quarian crew. As we finished eating, I remembered something earlier that I had meant to bring up to Roluck.

"Roluck?" I asked. He looked at me, then gestured for me to go on. "I'm thinking that this time around, it'd be better to have a lead for each of the crew teams than have them led by one of us."

Everybody looked up at this one.

"That's not a bad idea." Roluck admitted, looking thoughtful, "The team leads can simply bring attention to a problem to whoever's around, as well as suggested solutions and we'll do the contracting and purchasing. Makes things a lot easier. Who do you want for your team?"

"Risha'Zun." I answered immediately. Risha cocked her head at me, clearly surprised by the decision. Nobody questioned it, though.

"And I'll pick Sergeant Valin for the shield and weapons crew." Roluck answered.

"Yes, sir." The turian from earlier acknowledged.

"Good." Henry said, setting down his napkin. Roluck started typing on his omi-tool, paying the restaurant for the meal.

"We should go pick up Shields and Errahe next." Roluck told us, "They're up in Dark Star, from what I hear. Doctor Aline has one more surgery to perform at Huerta Memorial, then she's headed for the ship, as well. Crew, make your way to our ship."

"Does it even have a name?" I asked as we stood.

"Nope." He answered with a grin as we all stood. "We'll figure it out when we're all together."

The qurian and turian crew split up with us as we took Roluck's vehicle to the club.

"Tell you what." Henry said as he stepped into the vehicle, "We're traveling in style, now."

Roluck laughed as he sat down in the driver seat.

"So how've you been, man?" Henry asked, sitting up in the passenger's seat. I got in back with Krieg and Henry closed the door as Roluck started driving.

"Pretty bad, Henry." He answered grimly. "Things are looking bad. A bunch of barefaced politicians have been sitting here telling me I'm insane. I'm not the only one hollering; there are a couple more turians who've seen the Reapers as a construct apart from the geth. They're being firmly ignored, as well."

He sighed and he seemed to lose himself in thought as he stared out at the surrounding Presidium.

"Elura's still out there, Henry." He said, "That bitch killed Krylin. She tried to kill you twice. On top of that, the entire reason she did it is still lurking out there and nobody will listen to me."

"Then it's a good thing we're finding one ourselves." Krieg told him, "I'm sure once we bring a dead Reaper in, towed behind our ship, they'll take it a bit more seriously."

"Heh." Roluck chuckled, broken from his moody spell, "Only you could make chasing a near-immortal sentient starship sound like a good thing."

"Just be happy I'm letting you tag along." Krieg answered.

"Tag along?" Roluck laughed, "I'm in charge of this team!"

"Sure."

"Which reminds me," Roluck said, looking over at Henry, "This team needs an XO. A Lieutenant, to be exact. I'd like that to be you, Henry."

I was surprised, but I suppose it made a certain kind of sense. Roluck liked us all, to be sure. The only one I think he truly trusted, though, was Henry. A combination of comraderie and trust.

"I'm flattered, Roluck." Henry answered, smiling, "But we've got an Admiral in the backseat. I think she trumps us all."

"She's an Admiral to her people." Roluck answered. "To us, she's just Lena. Just like you're Henry and not Staff Sergeant."

Henry seemed to think about that.

"I'd be willing to try it out." He finally said.

"Good." Roluck said, then guided the vehicle up to a parking ramp. "I'll have your Councilor meet us aboard the ship real quick. We're here."

We got out of the vehicle and strode on up to a club that looked to be just as big as the one on Omega. This one had a more upscale look to it, though. We walked to the door, where there were two bouncers. One, predictably, was krogan and the other was elcor.

"Menacingly:" The elcor started when he spotted our group. "Are you on the li-"

"Diplomatic authority." Roluck overrode him, pulling out the same kind of badge that Henry used to have. "We're here to pick up a few people."

"Sincere concern:" The elcor said, no longer needing to be threatening, "Will there be a problem?"

"No problem." Roluck assured the elcor, "Just a couple of friends we need to take back home."

"Sincere relief." The krogan bouncer replied mockingly, shooting a glance at the elcor, "Have a good time in there."

We entered the club, where I was almost immediately bombarded with the deep pulsing tones of the music that was considered 'in' today. I wasn't a big fan of the current music, nor any other music, for that matter. Anything would be better than what was playing, though.

The club was pretty upscale. There were three levels. There was the entry level, where people just milled about and chatted. The second level was up a few steps and consisted of a bar and lounge. The third level, even further up, consisted of a large dance floor and a bar.

"Now where is..." Roluck muttered "Ah, of course."

Roluck started walking with us in tow, all the way up to the third floor. When we got there, I was surprised to find Errahe on the dance floor. With a human woman, of all things. She looked like she was having the time of her life.

Krieg went in the mob of dancers first, parting pretty much everybody. He was followed by Henry, then Roluck. I was about to follow, when I felt a hand on my arm. I turned to find myself staring at a human, this one younger than Henry and was wearing an Alliance off-duty uniform, just like him.

I immediately started reaching for my shotgun, something that this Marine didn't even notice.

"Those suits don't leave much to the imagination, huh?" He muttered, running a finger up my arm.

He was stopped cold when he felt the barrel of my Katana press into his gut. He looked down, eyes wide.

"Back off." I ordered.

"Should probably listen to the quarian." Came Errahe's voice from nearby. I turned to find the entire group watching me. Henry had a funny look on his face that I'd seen several times that noted amusement. "Might walk away with one testicle attached, if you leave now."

The human looked like he wanted to make an issue of it, until he caught sight of Henry. His eyes got wide and he backed away.

"S-sorry, Staff Sergeant."

"Kid," Henry said, "You should leave. Now. Before I turn you in to your CO."

"I will." He said, turning tail and walking away quickly.

"Good to see you're still as approachable as a rabid varren." Errahe noted.

"It's good to see you too, Errahe." I replied, "I've missed your...special sense of humor."

Errahe was in some off-duty clothing, but he still had that same crooked smile and subtle sarcasm that always hung about him. It was nice to know that even though Roluck and Henry had become a little more grim lately, Errahe and Krieg would remain the same.

"One more to go." Roluck said, "Where is she?"

"She's playing Skyllian Five in back rooms." Errahe answered.

"And you let her go back there?" Krieg asked.

"Our pilot has a mean streak." Errahe replied with a shrug.

Roluck shook his head and led us in another direction, towards a door with another krogan guarding it. Roluck pulled out his badge, which let us all enter the back rooms.

This room was much different from the rest of the Dark Star Lounge. The air just looked stale and I could see thin trails of smoke covering the ceiling. I was yet again thankful that my suit could block out the smell with my olfactory filters. There were several tables set up with asari dancers dancing on poles set up near the walls. At each of these tables, were people of all different species playing Skyllian Five.

Corporal Allison Shields was sitting at one such table, smoking a cigarette and sipping what I identified (from my week with Henry) as bourbon. Her green eyes were half closed with what I recognized as a leer. Long red hair tumbled past her shoulders, way longer than I believed the Alliance allowed their hair. She was built very lithe and with a surprising amount of muscle, for a pilot. She grinned at a batarian over the table, who was watching her with no small amount of animosity. When she laid her last card down, he slammed his fists on the table.

"That's it, bitch!" He yelled, startling the other four players at the table. I saw Allison's hand subtly slip down below the table. "You have to be cheating. That's the seventh win in a row!"

One of the guards started towards him, but Allison flashed the man a smile and shook her head. He went back to his post, clearly uneasy. Allison looked at the batarian over the table and I distinctly heard the sound of a pistol being armed. The batarian's eyes widened.

"Oh yeah." Allison leered, a grin on her face, "You know that sound. Wanna take a guess where it's pointed?"

All four of his eyes got even wider.

"I suggest you pay up." She replied, her voice hardening.

The batarian grumbled as he typed on his omni-tool and got up from the table. He walked towards our group.

"Out of my way, human." He snarled, slamming his shoulder into Henry's on the way by.

"Show some respect, whelp." Krieg growled, thrusting a hand into the batarian that slammed him into the wall. The batarian slid down the wall, unconscious. Allison had noticed us and her smile widened when her eyes landed on Henry.

"Henry!" She yelled standing up and rushing towards him. He held a hand out, but she ignored it and threw her arms around him. I felt myself bristling and forced myself to calm down. I knew he'd kept his word. "Glad to see you haven't been shot any since the last time we met."

"These trainees are far more dangerous than the geth." Henry grunted in agreement as Allison let go. She looked around at all of us and shook hands with everyone. When she got to me, it was a different treatment.

"Lena." Allison said, wrapping her arms around me and drawing me into an embrace. I stood there, not quite sure what the etiquette was on this. Nobody else seemed disturbed by it and I knew humans were a very touchy species, so I let it go without protest. "Thank God you're back. Now I don't have to listen to Henry whine about how long it's been since he's gotten la-"

"And it's nice to see you're still in good spirits." Roluck said, cutting over the uncomfortable dialogue. "You know why we're here."

"Of course." Allison replied with a smile as she let go of me, "And I'm ready to go. Just got finished running the tables on these rookies."

"So I saw." Krieg said, "You made them look like a bunch of whiny pyjacks."

As Roluck started walking again, with us following, she said, "Alliance doesn't pay me enough to have fun. Gotta earn it somewhere."

Henry laughed as we left the club. We all managed to squeeze into the transport, with Allison sitting on Krieg's lap.

"This is uncomfortable." Krieg muttered as he took off.

"So what've you been up to, Roluck?" Allison asked.

"Pissing off politicians." He answered immediately. "Searching for Elura while on leave, making connections...I'm preparing. Much like Henry and Krieg."

"And Errahe?" She asked.

"Too busy dancing." Errahe replied without a pause. We all had a good laugh, which died down when we got to the docking bay.

"And there she is." Roluck said, circling around the docking bay so we could get a good look at the ship.

It was long and slender, with four 'wings' attached to the back that were actually engines. I saw a pretty substantial cannon under the nose of the ship. The top half of it was blue, the bottom half was silver.

"Looks a lot like th-"

"The Normandy." Roluck finished for Henry. "I know. That is a Normandy-Class frigate, right there. You can thank Councilor Anderson when you see him on the ship. He and General Toulius are giving everything they can on this one. They both know what's at stake."

"General Toulius believes us, too?" I asked.

"It took some convincing." Roluck admitted, "But we had enough evidence to sway him."

"So what are we going to call the ship?" Henry wondered.

"I was thinking 'The Vengeance'." Roluck answered. We all quietly pondered it while I reflected on Roluck's rather unhealthy obsession with his vengeance on Elura. He'd mentioned her many times in his messages to me during the two years we'd been apart.

"I'd be alright with that." Krieg replied, "I like the implication."

"Which is?" Henry wondered.

"This mission is our 'vengeance' on the Council." Errahe said, "For being short-sighted fools and...well...politicians."

"I'm on board with it." I said as I stepped out of the vehicle to join everyone else at the rail. We admired the ship quietly, all of us secretly jubilant to be undertaking another mission together.

"We're going to make them pay." Roluck said. "The Reapers...The Council"

His face grew dark.

"And Elura."

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_


	24. Chapter 24

The Vengeance honestly wasn't that different from the Peacemaker. Everything was more or less the same, but with a lot more crewmembers than before.

The first place we all went was to the shuttle bay at the very bottom of the ship, where Councilor Anderson and our crew waited.

Councilor Anderson was quite an impressive human. I'd read up on him during my time in the Migrant Fleet and was surprised to find that he was considered for Spectre candidacy before his mission had been sabotaged. He was bigger than Henry, clearly still in excellent shape despite his age. He had very short black hair and dark eyes. He would almost seem dull on first glance, but I'd learned he was far more clever than he let on. The same dark skin I'd noted on several humans also covered him.

One of the things that impressed me about humans was their genetic diversity. Most species were the same, through and through. Even though the krogan and the turians had different clans, they were the same genetically. Humans apparently differed depending on what section of Earth they were born and raised on.

General Toulius was also there, the older turian conversing in quiet tones with Anderson. As the lead for the STT teams, we very often had to send our reports back to him. The turian was proud and had a slight disposition against humans. Still, he'd come through for us in the end, when he'd finally believed our tales about the Reapers.

Behind him stood more than just a turian crew and a quarian crew. There were also a few salarians milling about, a dozen alliance technicians and six asari.

Doctor Aline was also there, conversing with the salarians. She looked up as we arrived and smiled warmly. I still remember the hand the asari doctor had in helping Henry and I. Needless to say, I was still thankful towards her.

When we emerged from the elevator, even Roluck seemed surprised by the sheer size of the crew that was there. Anderson and General Toulius turned to us.

"Gerrard." Anderson acknowledged, "Glad to see you back. How is the latest militia?"

"They're holding their own." Henry replied, "The instructors out there should still be able to teach 'em enough to get by."

"Good." Anderson answered. "Now, let's get down to the reason we're all here."

"Crew!" General Toulius barked, "Atten-hut!"

Everybody on the crew went to attention, some of Zeta team included. I wasn't quite sure if I was supposed to. Krieg, for obvious reasons, didn't go to attention either. Neither Councilor Anderson or General Toulius seemed too concerned about it, though.

"We are gathered here today to re-instate Special Tasks Team Zeta." General Toulius announced. "Zeta Team has a proud history of service, especially in the month that culminated in the Battle of the Citadel. Captain Roluck Vether, Blackwatch Operative, has been selected as this unit's commanding officer. He has chosen the now-Lieutenant Henry Gerrard, Alliance Marines, as his Executive Officer."

I noticed Henry grimace a little and had to restrain myself from laughing aloud. I knew he hated the idea of being an officer.

"You've been briefed on the very classified nature of this mission." General Toulius told them all, "The same type of being that attacked the Citadel two years ago is on the prowl out there. I know that many of you doubt it, but Zeta has seen the evidence first-hand."

Councilor Anderson paced in front of the crew, speaking to them after a nod from General Toulius.

"I know that half of you already have experience with this team." Councilor Anderson started. The crew's attention was fixed on him. "But for those who have not, this team contains some of the best soldiers and specialists the galaxy has. Take your guidance from them and give them your best. Because they will be giving the rest of the galaxy no less. Now, get to your stations. As soon as General Toulius and I debark the ship, you'll be headed out. Dismissed!"

They all started heading for the elevator and stairs, getting ready to start working. Doctor Aline approached me as Anderson started talking to Henry and General Toulius spoke with the rest of Zeta.

"Lena." Doctor Aline greeted with a smile, "It's good to see you again."

"And you too, doctor." I replied.

"The advice I gave you and Henry," She asked, her smile inquisitive, "Did it help?"

I knew she couldn't see the smile behind my mask, but I smiled anyways. It had certainly helped. I'd even been taking supplements for the last six hours, though I doubted I'd get anywhere near as sick, this time.

"It did." I confided in her, "Got sick for quite some time, but I'm still alive."

"Good to hear." She said, her eyes bright, "Happy I could help."

"Me too." I told her.

"I'm sure I'll be seeing you later." She added cryptically, walking off.

I shook my head as Councilor Anderson and General Toulius departed. The rest of the team had gone to the upper decks and were getting settled in. All that was left here in the shuttle bay was Henry and part of the turian crew. Henry had produced a shotgun from nowhere and was busy pulling it apart. The shotgun looked like on of the Eviscerator models, which were powerful enough to put down a krogan in a couple shots. I wondered where he'd found the time to purchase one and get it sent to the ship.

"Henry," I said, walking over to him, trying to put the best sway in my hips that I could, "What're you working on?"

"A new shotgun for you, actually." He answered, looking up at me. "Thought you could use something besides that old standard-issue Katana model."

I was a little taken aback. I had to admit that I really wanted a new weapon. The Katana was reliable, but it wasn't exactly the powerhouse that other weapons were. An Eviscerator ensured heavy firepower without sacrificing thermal clip capacity (Like the Claymore did). However, there was something else I really wanted at the moment. I mentally summoned up my research on the extranet from the past couple years and went for it.

"I know a gun we could work on." I told him.

He froze and looked up, his mouth hanging open. He worked to try to find the words, but they seemed to elude him.

I laughed, glad to have stunned him so utterly.

_My research paid off._

"Exactly..." He started finally, then stopped, then tried again. "Exactly where did you learn that?"

"I've been doing some research on the extranet." I told him, "You wouldn't believe some of the the videos that are on there. There are so many things I want to try, now."

"Well," He said, getting back to the weapon (much to my annoyance) "I wager we have about ten to fifteen minutes until Roluck calls us up for a mission brief. I want to get this project finished before then."

"And after the briefing?" I asked. He looked up at me, grinning.

"I'm all yours." He told me, looking up with another smile.

"You better be." I warned him, just before I started walking to the elevator. I wanted to visit my room before the brief and get settled in.

The difference with this ship compared to the other one was that the crew quarters had an entire deck dedicated to them. Clearly, this ship was built to hold as many crew members as possible. When I exited the elevator, I found myself in a hallway wide enough to fit three people side by side. A door to the right had little placards on it that said: "Turian, Asari, Salarian, Krogan." A door to the left said: "Human, Quarian."

I could see why they'd set it up like that, so as to ensure an equal distribution of crew members.

My room was part of the crew quarters. It was very small, no bigger than a small barracks room. But each quarian had their own room and each room had thorough decontamination protocols installed. I guess the Council had been very serious about Zeta Team.

I had a bed with no sheets, as I didn't really need sheets. Next to it was a small storage unit and next to the door was a tall locker. Over the bed was a medium-sized re-enforced window that showed the stars outside passing by.

It wasn't quite a hotel, but it was still nicer berthing than the average turian ship. Or quarian ship, for that matter. I idly wondered whether Henry and Roluck had nicer rooms or if they were just sleeping in regular berthing with their respective races.

I noticed an encryption key attached to the storage unit, which I pulled off and typed into my omni-tool. Once I had it stored into the omni-tool, I put the sticker on the underside of the mattress, where I could find it if I needed it and nobody else would think to look. I doubted anybody would be trying to steal my things aboard this ship, anyways.

I opened the storage unit and put my shotgun in there before locking it back up. As a rule, our species didn't carry much with us. There was no need to, when we were always on the move. Even my mother and father, back on the Migrant Fleet, didn't carry much with them. And they were Captains, who'd been on their ships for the last ten years.

So with nothing else to do, I laid down and closed my eyes. The bed wasn't like the one on Omega, but it was certainly more comfortable than the one I was used to on the Migrant Fleet. I was just closing my eyes when Roluck's voice rang out of the speaker in the ship.

"Zeta team." He said, "Report to the briefing room. It's in the same place as the Peacemaker."

I picked myself up out of bed and walked back to the elevator. When it opened, Krieg was already on it.

"Lena." He greeted evenly as I walked onto the elevator.

"Krieg." I replied. There was silence as we rode the elevator up to the command center. When the doors opened, Roluck passed by us. We followed him the rest of the way to the briefing room.

This briefing room was a lot more spacious than the one on the Peacemaker. Everybody was already seated, waiting on Roluck. When Krieg and I sat down, he locked the door and started speaking.

"Before we begin," he started, "just want to make note of a change we're making to improve the ship's capabilities. It only involves Henry and I, but I thought I'd let you all know. Shields is in charge of the navigation team, which are the three asari you saw. Henry has appointed a Sergeant by the name of Kala as the lead for the Alliance team while Doctor Aline heads the medical team. Every other day, we're going to bring them all up here in a brief to ensure that all issues with the ship are taken care of. Henry and I will be heading this brief and if you need something for the ship, that's your time to bring it up."

Everybody nodded, urging Roluck to get on with it.

"Now onto our mission." Roluck said, pressing a button on the table. The holographic screen lit up to show a tiny moon. "This is Hir'Dan, in the Armstrong Cluster. It's a small moon where a ton of batarian pirates and slavers are based."

I nearly grimaced. Batarians were probably the least liked race of the galaxy. Even the krogan commanded a little more kindness than the batarians did. What made it worse is that while the batarians hated everyone, humans had a special place in their hearts. Humans were the entire reason batarians were so hated across the galaxy. Humans had started to colonize some worlds in the same area the batarians were colonizing. As a result, the Hegemony had petitioned the Council to declare the zone a batarian zone, but the Council had refused. The brief battles that had followed ended in a surprising human victory.

"That's...problematic." Errahe muttered. Everyone else, me included, agreed with him.

"We don't need to storm every base." Roluck assured us all, "Just one."

He displayed a small structure that looked about the size of the one we'd hit to save Krylin.

"This group is, thankfully, separate from most of the other facilities." He said, "In this facility is a certain soldier we want."

"Batarian?" Krieg asked.

"Yes." Roluck replied.

"Is he with the pirates?" Henry asked.

"No." Roluck answered, "He was a demolitions expert from their army. After a 'disquieting' report he filed after his ship had been destroyed, he was discharged, where the pirates picked him up and plan to sell him as a slave. STG picked up the information on this one and thought they should pass it along, since they're a little more receptive to the Reaper idea."

"Disquieting report?" I wondered.

"A report of a ship." Roluck told us. "He saw it two months ago. The description and capabilities matched Sovereign, though in the description, the ship was smaller. It'd wiped out his ship while it'd been patrolling."

"Where was it headed?" Errahe asked.

"According to him." Roluck said, "It looked like it was projected to be on a course to Rothia before it attacked, but he couldn't be too sure. We're going to liberate him and he's going to give us our next move."

"So we're playing catch up." Krieg grunted. "Damn it."

"Unfortunately, yes." Roluck said, "We should be there in four hours. Everybody get ready to go. You know the drill."

We all got up and left, with me searching for Henry. I spotted him and his gaze met mine. I nodded towards the floor and he smiled.

We waited out everyone else's departure, then he looked at me.

"Let me decontaminate myself." He told me. "I'll shower a couple times and use some of the soap that Dr. Aline keeps on hand."

"I'll be waiting." I told him. That was the worst part of all of this. The waiting. I knew, though, that I could wait a few more minutes.

So I headed on down to my room and ran the decontamination protocols. When they were finished, I deactivated my suit systems and slowly removed it. As pieces came off, I finally got to see my skin, which I hadn't seen in months. The pale, faintly purple color of it never seemed to stop amazing Henry.

After watching a couple of human videos, I'd realized that, unlike most species, humans always wore undergarments. I had no idea, only that for it was considered sanitary and depending on the type of undergarments, sexy. As such, I had bought some off of a trader on the Citadel, who'd fixed me with the most memorably confused stare I'd ever received.

So, clad only in these undergarments, I waited. I waited so long, that I started to drift off to sleep. Even excitement didn't dim the fact that I'd barely gotten any sleep. I woke right up, though, when I heard the door open.

Henry stood at the door, holding my new shotgun limply in hand. He stared at me, his mouth open wide again. I smiled, happy that he still clearly found me attractive.

"Wanna close that door?" I asked, "Before any of my people see their Admiral...compromised."

"Y-yeah." He answered, walking in and locking the door behind him. I started the decontamination protocol again. As the mist played over him, he said, "You're wearing...underwear?"

"It's a human custom, from what I understand." I said, "I thought I'd try it for you."

"It's...thanks, Lena."

"Are you just gonna stand there holding a gun or start getting out of those clothes?" I asked, bemused.

Henry shook himself out of it, dropped the shotgun and started stripping down until he remained only in a pair of what I recognized as boxers. He approached and I grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him into the bed with me.

I think the best term for what happened would be that we attacked each other. Henry pressed his mouth to mine and I groaned happily, feeling that same pleasant urge building up south of my stomach. He drew back for a moment, a smile on his face as he gazed into my eyes.

"Christ, I missed you." He muttered, just before he pounced again.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	25. Chapter 25

I woke to the soft ping of Henry's omni-tool alarm. I felt warm, the heat from Henry's body making the otherwise chilly room comfortable. His arms wrapped around me and clasped at my waist. I pushed in closer, loving the feel of his skin on mine. A feeling I didn't get to encounter enough.

I felt a slow smile creeping across my face, one that I didn't want him to see. I was supposed to be a Marine, after all. Keelah, I was an Admiral, I wasn't supposed to be acting like some lovestruck girl who just started her Pilgrimage.

_Then again,_ I thought to myself,_ two years. I can be a little bit of a romantic, if I want._

I stretched against him as he began to stir. My muscles were a little sore, for a couple of reasons. Our little lovemaking session right before we'd gone to sleep had been exactly what I'd been needing. The smile just wouldn't go away as I heard Henry take a breath. I composed myself, taking a few short breaths and letting the smile fade.

It wasn't the first time I hid exactly how happy I was from him. When I'd first found out he felt the same way about me, I'd slipped. I'd even let a few tears out. I couldn't do that again. I felt a little guilty that I couldn't let him know exactly how much I cared for him and for what we had.

The reason was that I knew he felt absolutely terrible that we were in this predicament, where either of us could just die at any given moment. He wanted better for me and I knew that. So he needed me to be strong and almost distant. As did my fellow quarians aboard this ship.

I couldn't wait until he met my parents. His had been accepting, though the slightest bit mean. Mine would probably be far worse. I still remember their reaction when I'd told them what was going on between Henry and I. They'd been borderline horrified. It...had not been a pleasant conversation, to say the least.

"Already?" Henry groaned, slowly withdrawing his arms. I wanted to tell him to put those arms right back, but I didn't fight it.

_Bosh'tet._ I grumbled inwardly.

"We've got a half hour." I told him, "We need to get ready."

"Yeah." He sighed. He sat up as I stayed on the bed. We both got dressed, and he pointed to the shotgun he'd thrown in the corner.

"Don't forget the Eviscerator." He told me, "I modified its firepower. It's not quite as powerful as a Claymore, but it's still nothing to sneeze at."

"Thanks." I said. He just smiled and shook his head.

"Don't thank me." He said, "I'm getting requests from everyone. Errahe's got some kind of exotic SMGs he wants me to modify. He's trying to learn to fire with both hands. Roluck found a schematic in Cerberus files at a base he raided for something called The Harrier. He wants me to take a look at it and see if I can build it. Following that, he wants me to mount a scope and extended barrel on it and see what I can do with its stability."

"He's letting you play with his weapons?" I wondered, amazed. Roluck was notoriously possessive of his weapons.

"Yeah." He answered. "I'm working on some new armor for him, too. But he doesn't know it."

"He needs it." I muttered, thinking of the beat up armor he always wore. I had to wonder how long he'd had it. In fact, I couldn't help but notice that, in the shuttle bay, Henry had his old armor, as well. Those sets were outdated and he really needed some new armor, too. I wondered if I could sneak past him and send a requisition order to Anderson.

Still, as he left, I pushed myself off of the bed. I desperately needed to shower. I left my room and went to the bathing stalls, where we had our own decontaminated showers set up. I slowly washed the effects of the last three hours off of my body. Once I was finished, I dried off and got back into my suit. I felt a slight chill coming on, but I doubted that it would be the full-fledged illness that took me out of commission for months.

I hefted my shotgun and reported to the Shuttle Bay, where some of the team waited. I settled in next to Roluck, who glanced over at me before looking back ahead. His eyes cast about and I wondered if he was just thinking. Or, as I had come to realize, planning.

Roluck had been busy during Zeta's two year hiatus, working in the shadows. I'd read the reports that came my way from him. He'd secure a small band of mercs here, or accrue a favor. He'd subtly influence events and put pieces into play. It was like the opening moves to a game and Roluck was one of a few players on our side.

Which was why, when I left, I'd intentionally made myself a piece. I didn't know if he'd caught on, but when the Reapers came, I would be in prime position to start negotiating a treaty and assistance from my people. Henry had been training entire brigades and battalions under peaceful pretenses that he could pull back to his side when the attacks came. From what Krieg told me, he was helping his leader unite the krogan and was pulling in diplomatic ties to other races. Errahe had been spreading word through the STG, which was where our information on this batarian had come from.

I wondered if this batarian was yet another piece. The batarians were certainly strong, though not as strong as the rest of the Council species. Maybe Roluck was recruiting this batarian because he could also edge into the batarian Hegemony. I stopped pondering and decided to focus on what I was good at: killing.

We waited for the rest of the team to gather. When they did, Roluck cleared his throat and started speaking.

"We're going to be splitting up into two teams on this one." He said, "We've got Krieg, Errahe and Lena for the Assault group. Henry and I will be on Overwatch, keeping them at bay at long range. We'll set down and as you drive forward, we'll split to the side and look for flanking opportunities. Our target is Corporal Barin Pazen. When we find him, we will extract him and bring him back to the shuttle."

"Simple enough." Krieg grunted, "Which means something will go wrong."

"I'm expecting it." Roluck agreed with a nod. "When has anything gone right for us?"

He gestured for us to follow him and I stepped in behind Errahe as we headed to the shuttle. Errahe moved up to pilot the shuttle as Krieg gestured to my shotgun.

"That's a nice shotgun you got there." He observed. "Henry make you that?"

"Yeah." I answered as the shuttle took off, "Good thing, too. I've been needing a replac-"

"Henry." Roluck said from behind me. "You alright?"

I turned to find Henry seated at the side of the shuttle. His hands were gripping the edge of the seat rather hard and his mouth was set in a thin line. At Roluck's words, he looked up and tried on a shaky smile.

"I'll be fine." He said, "Just...my last ride on one of these didn't end well."

I grimaced behind the mask and Roluck seemed to realize what he meant.

"I'm sure we'll be fine, Henry." Roluck replied. "No geth around, this time."

Henry nodded, the words clearly having little effect on him.

"Yeah." He muttered, "AA guns. Much less lethal against aircraft."

The ride down to the base was smooth until we got within a mile.

"AA guns tracking." Errahe spoke from the front, "Going to skim in very low to avoid fire."

There was the sound of gunfire around the shuttle. The shuttle started to rock and weave. I hated this part of the missions. The vulnerable shuttle. I tried to steady my nerves and looked at Henry for support. It didn't help, seeing his incredibly pale face and visible anxiety. I didn't blame him for it, I was sure that I would feel the same way, in his place.

There was a rough jolt as we hit the ground and slid. We weren't shot down, but that was the best landing Errahe could give us. When it came to a stop, Errahe yelled back at us.

"Now! Hurry!"

Roluck and Krieg were first. They opened the door and I peeked out to find us staring at a ramp up to the catwalks that wove in between a small facility. It was hard to make out much, seeing as it was night and there were few lights in the facility. There were a few pirates who were already out of the buildings, firing at the transport. Roluck downed a pair of them with his assault rifle while Krieg carefully took aim and then fired, putting a round into the brain of the third batarian.

Henry and I were out next. When my feet hit the grass, I looked up to find that Krieg had already moved forward to cover. I followed hie example, running for cover as fast as I could. Rounds hissed by me as I tumbled into a roll and ended up behind a steel packing crate. I glanced back as a round pinged off of the crate to see Henry and Roluck sneaking around the perimeter. Errahe popped out from cover to my left and gunned down a batarian with a shotgun.

This was pretty straightforward. There was a catwalk that lined one edge of the base. It became a three-way intersection further up, where the path turned into a walkway that ran between four buildings. Barin would undoubtedly be in one of them. There were four batarians crouching low enough that they couldn't be hit by the Overwatch team and were coordinating fire well enough that they were keeping us down.

We needed to give the team an opening. I was the Admiral of the Migrant Fleet Marines, so I decided I should probably take charge of this one. I looked at Errahe.

"Errahe," I yelled. He gave me a look. "Frag grenade behind them!"

He nodded, accepting the order without pause. He pulled out a grenade, thumbed the lock off of it and tossed it behind the batarians. They saw the object incoming and stood, fleeing our way and firing at us wildly to force our heads down. There was sudden gunfire from the side and two of them went down. A powerful bark of an assault rifle and then a third went down. But the last one was nearing Krieg's cover. Krieg swung out from behind the crane and fired through the batarian's torso. Crimson blood spattered the ground as the grenade exploded, lodging shrapnel in Krieg's armor. He looked at the shrapnel with something approaching annoyance and brushed it off.

"We got you covered." Roluck said, "Give us a minute, then move into the center. We'll be on your left flank."

"Got it." I replied. I subtly waved to the other two, who nodded and followed me up the ramp and to the three way intersection. Krieg crossed the gap, drawing gunfire from enemies I couldn't see as he pressed himself against the wall across from my position.

"Keep them there." I commanded. I peeked across the corner and received a hail of gunfire for my trouble. A small alarm sounded in my helmet, informing me of a suit breach.

"Damn it." I cursed softly, looking at my shoulder. The round had missed the skin, but punched a hole in my suit. The suit clamps present all over clamped the two torn edges shut, but I'd probably still be looking at a nasty infection.

"You take a hit?" Krieg asked.

"Yeah." I told him, "That's going to cost me."

"You okay, Lena?" I heard Henry ask.

"It tore my suit, but missed me." I answered, "I'm fine. We're keeping them pinned down so you can flank them from the left."

Errahe crouched under me then popped out from cover, managing to drop one of the five batarians crouching behind cover. I heard the sound of Angel and Roluck's Mattock and the batarians started screaming as they were fired on by Overwatch from their flank. Krieg and I came around the corner to find two of the batarians standing and trying to return fire to Overwatch. One blast from each shotgun took care of that problem.

We moved forward and I looked left to see Overwatch on a small knoll. Roluck gave us a small wave, but Henry stayed sighted in .

"We'll stay here." Roluck said, "I doubt there are many more, though. Pirates generally don't keep a massive force at their base. We'll keep everyone from going in after you, that's for sure."

"Which building?" I asked.

"The...uh..."Roluck started, "The one made of metal."

"They're all made of metal." I pointed out.

"Hypothesize that Roluck doesn't know." Errahe answered.

I groaned and looked around. I picked the nearest one as our target.

"No grenades." I warned the team as we stacked up outside the door, with Krieg in front. I slapped him lightly on the arm, to let him know we were ready. He opened the door and went charging in, shotgun booming. I followed in behind him, with Errahe bringing up the rear. This room was home to a pair of desks, both with pirates crouched behind them. Krieg had stopped further in to fire at one. I took the one closest to the door.

"Cover me!" I yelled to Errahe. He swept to my side and fired at the desk I ran towards. The pirate tried to raise his head to look up at me, but Errahe was far too accurate. I jumped on top of the desk just as I heard Krieg roar. There was no time to see what was going on, I just fired a round into the pirate's head. It seemed to completely blow apart from the slug.

I turned just in time to see Krieg slam into the other desk, causing it to slide backward into the pirate. Krieg wasn't finished, though. He kept pumping his legs, throwing all his weight into it as he slammed the desk into the wall, with the pirate pinned between the wall and the desk.

"Eat it, scum!" Krieg growled, before blowing the pirate's head off with the Claymore.

"Might want to eat table for energy." Errahe commented as he pulled up beside a door across from the one we entered. I heard a loud boom from Angel and Roluck's Mattock again.

"Two enemies down." Roluck reported.

I nodded to Errahe, who opened the door. He peeked inside, then looked at me.

"Clear." He reported. The three of us entered the room to find ourselves looking at a prison block. There were several prisoners here of varying species. One was even a quarian. I gave him a brief nod.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance." I told him, "Migrant Fleet Marines."

"And you didn't recognize my voice at all, Admiral?" The quarian wondered, folding his arms.

Actually, now that he mentioned it, his voice was very familiar. I couldn't really place it that well, but it seemed like a long ti-

"Sergeant Zent'Alaar?" I wondered.

"Yes ma'am." He said, "I heard about your promotion, though not much else was said."

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"Got captured on a recon mission, ma'am." He answered. "Not that I'm complaining, but why are you here?"

"I'll have you out of there in a moment." I told him, "Gotta do something, first."

"Don't mind me, ma'am." He replied as I walked off to check out the other cells. I couldn't even try to calculate the chances of finding Zent here. It was good to see him and I was excited that I could save him. First, I had to finish what we started. I walked over a couple cells down and found a batarian sitting in his cell, completely calm. He looked up at me as I approached.

He looked, for a lack of a better phrase, beat up. His four black eyes had a look of weariness about them and the multiple-nosed ridge looked bruised and discolored from his normal yellowish face. Thin lips had swollen to twice their size. He looked thin and his armor had been tossed into a corner. He bared his teeth at me, as if daring me to step into the cell.

"A quarian?" He growled, "What are you doing here?"

"Corporal Barin Pazin?" I asked.

"Who the fuck are you?" He shot back.

"Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance." I informed him, "I'm with STT Zeta and we're here to rescue you."

"Rescue me?" He asked snidely as he stood, "Do I look stupid? What would you want with a batarian?"

"Information." I sniped back, angry about his attitude.

"Information on what?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Sergeant Zent'Alaar?" I heard Errahe ask behind me in surprise.

"The Reapers." I told him. "Or better yet, one Reaper. The one that killed your entire crew."

His entire demeanor went from 'hostile' to 'anxious' in seconds.

"Why would I tell you about that?" He asked.

"Because we're one of the few entities doing anything about it."

I heard more gunfire outside. I noticed that Errahe and Krieg had opened all the cells and were waiting for me. I noticed an asari and a turian. There were a few humans here, as well. One of them, sickeningly enough, looked to be a young human girl who couldn't even be older than six. Nobody was claiming her as their child.

"We don't have time to sit here and tell stories." I told him, "Will you at least come with us to our ship?"

"I won't turn down a rescue." He answered grudgingly. He could've fooled me. I hacked the lock open with my omni-tool and we all headed outside in a group.

"We're incoming." I told Overwatch. "We have Barin."

"Good."

"And Zent, too."

"Zent?" Roluck asked, surprised, "What was he doing there?"

"I'll fill you in later." I said, "Are we clear?"

"Not for long." Henry replied, "There's a dropship coming in around our position. We'll meet back up with you at the shuttle."

"Let's move!" I yelled to everyone. Zent had grabbed a pistol from Krieg and swept out of the door with him.

"Clear!" Krieg yelled.

We dashed away from the building and I could hear yelling nearby. We sprinted for the three-way intersection and spotted the transport, where Roluck and Henry were frantically waving us in. I wondered just how many troops were coming, for them to be so panicked.

The prisoners went into the transport first, followed by Errahe and Henry. The gunfire started just as I was about to get in.

"The girl!" Roluck yelled. I felt my heart freeze when I looked around and couldn't find her in the shuttle. I looked back to find that she had fallen to her knees at the middle of the three way intersection and was paralyzed with fear as no less than six pirates came around the corner, with what sounded like more in tow.

I pulled out my backup pistol and started firing as I advanced towards her, with Roluck next to me doing the same. A pair of them dropped and I heard an angry roar as Krieg charged up the ramp and literally backhanded a human pirate over a railing before scooping the girl up in an arm. He turned to shield her from fire as he extended the Claymore and blew a hole through an incoming batarian. He came dashing back, the terrified girl clinging onto him for dear life. He jumped into the shuttle and we followed. Errahe took off and I sighed a breath of relief as the shuttle stayed low, dodging AA fire on the way out.

"Is she okay?" Roluck and Henry asked simultaneously, looking down at the wailing girl.

"It's okay." Krieg assured the crying girl, gently bouncing her in an arm. "You're safe with us."

She kept crying, not at all reassured.

"We're safe." Krieg repeated, slowly managing to calm her down, "I have a daughter too, you know?"

She looked up at him, still tearing up and sniffling. She'd stopped bawling, though.

"There we go." Krieg said, smiling. The smile dropped as he looked up and saw all of us looking at him.

"What the hell are you all looking at?" He demanded. Everyone looked away. I couldn't help the smile tugging onto my face. It was touching to see him there, a shotgun in one hand, dented armor specked with blood, reassuring a little girl that he was safe. The tough old krogan was a dad, through and through.

"Now there's a human on the team?" Barin burst out, looking disgusted.

"There is." Henry said, "Before this even gets started, you need to bury your grievances, because we've got a much bigger enemy to face."

"And why the hell should I?" He demanded, anger etched into his face.

"You told the Hegemony about the Reaper." Roluck stated from his corner in the crowded shuttle, "Didn't you?"

"Yeah." He growled.

"And they didn't believe you, did they?" Krieg grunted.

"How could you possibly know that?" He snarled, glaring at Krieg.

"Because we told the Council." Henry said quietly. "And they didn't believe us, either."

"So you guys are what?" Barin asked, seeming a little less hostile, "Rogue?"

"Not rogue." Roluck said, "Just on...special assignment."

"Well..." Barin said, looking uncertain, "I'll tell you what I know. After that...I don't know."

"You're a demolitions expert, correct?" Roluck asked.

"Yeah." He answered.

"We could use another hand on the team."

"A Council team?" He grunted mockingly.

"A team trying to save the galaxy." Henry answered back immediately. "Hegemony included."

He took a long look around the shuttle, at all of the prisoners, before saying:

"I'll think about it."

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	26. Chapter 26

Zeta sat around the table with Zent'Alaar and Barin. We were waiting on Roluck and Henry to get back to us with information on the civilians we'd found. Zent'Alaar had wanted to sit near me, due to the fact that I think I was the only on here he was comfortable with.

"Zeta's changed a lot since I'd last met you all." He'd told us on the shuttle.

I had spent the last fifteen minutes taking all sorts of antibiotics. The suit puncture had make me sick and it could be heard from my voice. I estimated that I'd be borderline useless for a few days. I'd be back to normal within a week. I'd just gotten very lucky that the round hadn't struck me. Even now, though, I could feel the fatigue and the cold sweat that was coming on despite my suit's environmental controls.

Errahe and Krieg were joking with Barin, though what they were saying was both offensive to all sentient life and hilarious.

"So, Ma'am." Zent'Alaar muttered to me, clearly trying not to be overheard, "I typically do not engage in gossip, but I heard rumors about you and Lieutenant Gerrard."

"They're true." I told him quietly, feeling the slightest bit of apprehension at his response. I was sure it'd be just like every quarian reaction in the Migrant Fleet.

"He's a good man." Zent'Alaar assured me, much to my surprise. "Not as carefree as I remember, but still a good man."

"I'm surprised you're so calm about it." I told him. Zent'Alaar chortled.

"Ma'am," He said, "When I look at him, I don't see a human. I see a man that fended off a mercenary to save one of our people."

"Thanks, Sergeant." I told him. "It's good to see another quarian with an open mind."

"If you don't mind me asking," he said, "what exactly happened to Zeta? Why is everyone so grim all the time?"

"You know the construct that attacked the Citadel?" I asked.

"The one that the Council said was a geth ship?" He replied, crossing his arms, "Even though I know it wasn't a geth ship?"

"It wasn't." I told him, "The name for it is a Reaper. It's sentient, believe it or not. It's entire existence is devoted to wiping out all organic life in the galaxy."

"That's...hard to swallow." He said.

"I know." I told him, "But it gets worse. According to reports forwarded to us by the human Councilor, the Reaper attacked the Citadel in order to let more friends of his through."

"There's more of them?" Zent asked, sounding alarmed.

"Lots more." I answered. "Enough to destroy the galaxy with ease."

"So the Council has you out here building armies and ma-" He started, but I cut him off.

"The Council doesn't believe us." I told him, "Which is why we're out here. We're chasing another Reaper that's been sighted around here."

"For what purpose?" He asked.

"So we can tow it back to the Council, point at it and tell them 'start getting ready'."

"And possibly 'I told you so'?" He asked.

"That, too." I laughed.

The door opened and Roluck entered with Henry in tow. Henry took a seat as Roluck strode up to the head of the table.

"We were able to account for most of the civilians." Roluck said, "We're dropping them on the Citadel and the Council will provide money for transport back to their families. The little girl, Anna, has no living relatives, but I know a couple on the Citadel that will take her in."

"Good." Krieg grunted.

"Before we begin," Roluck said, "Exactly how did you end up in there, Zent?"

"I was scouting a world by myself." He told us, "Taking readings to see if it'd be inhabitable. The pirates had tracked my ship and came through with me. When I was on the planet, they overwhelmed me."

"Overwhelmed?" Henry said. It sounded like he'd put up a fight.

"I didn't go down easy." He said. I grinned, having no doubts he'd taken a few of the pirates down before being taken. That was arguably the best thing about being a Migrant Fleet Marine. Due to a quarian's relatively small size, other species tended to forget that we were still trained Marines.

Then I realized something. I'd never approved that mission. It was my duty as an Admiral to read through and approve every mission my Marines went on.

"I don't remember approving that mission." I finally said.

Zent shifted uneasily.

"I received the orders from the Admiralty Board." He admitted. "I thought that you'd approved it."

"It's not your fault, Sergeant." I said, feeling a simmering anger. The Admiralty Board had bypassed me so that they could send a lone Marine out on a very dangerous mission. I needed to find out why. I needed to see them in person.

"Well," Roluck said, "Let's move on to our main order of business. Barin, tell us exactly what you remember about the ship that attacked you."

Barin took a long breath and looked around at us all, simmering anger in his eyes.

"I was scouting some possible camp sites on a moon." He told us, "I'd gone down in the dropship while my ship waited in orbit."

He sighed and his eyes got distant.

"Then this freak of a ship swooped in out of nowhere." He grunted. "Our ship wasn't small. Hell, it was a cruiser. It might as well have been made of wood, for all the good it did. My ship fired everything it had at...what did you call it? The Reaper. the Reaper didn't even look phased. It just swept right through our cruiser. I had just enough fuel in the shuttle to make it back to an outpost. From there, I started looking up similiar warships and couldn't come up with any until I saw a picture from the Battle of the Citadel."

"Which was when you realized what it was and that there was more than one." Roluck asked rhetorically.

"Yes." Barin answered with a nod. "That thing wasn't a geth ship. There are no geth in our space. I told the Hegemony what was coming and got laughed right out of the military."

"A feeling we know all too well." Errahe said.

"It wasn't as big as the ship that attacked the Citadel." He said, "But I understand your intentions. You want to kill it and use it to drum up support for when these Reapers do finally attack."

"Yes." Roluck answered with a nod. He looked around and said to everyone, "I have business on the Citadel. I might've finally found Elura."

There was a collective intake of breath around the table.

"Yeah." He answered, nodding. "It'll take a couple days and I can only take Krieg and Barin, if he's willing. Henry will take control of the ship."

"If you're fighting those things." Barin said, "You can take me anywhere."

"One last thing." Roluck said, "I've got a sizable savings that I've...invested...in a new technology that's being researched. It's a type of drive that allows exploration of the galaxy without Mass Relays."

"I wasn't aware the tech existed." Krieg said.

"We were working on something like that, before the First Contact War." Henry replied. "Looks like someone wanted to continue it. If we have that tech, we can start mapping out systems and planets that the Reapers won't be able to speed into using the Mass Relays."

"What's the point?" I wondered.

"We'll have somewhere to put the civilians." Roluck replied. "Something to think about, for anyone who has spare credits just lying around."

The table went silent as we all thought it over.

"Dismissed." Roluck announced.

I stretched in my chair as everyone filed out. I was tired and I was feeling a headache coming on. I decided to ask Roluck if I could take the ship out while he was on his mission.

I trudged out of the room and down to Roluck's 'command room'. It was the small room on the third deck where he sat down at a terminal and planned his next move. He also wrote his reports there, from what I understood.

When I neared the door, I heard the muffled sound of conversation.

"-keep her safe." A voice, Henry's, was saying.

"It's not possible to keep anyone safe, these days." Roluck answered.

I felt heated, an emotion that was not helped by my illness.

_This old insecurity, again._

"It's not right." Henry groaned.

"Damn it, Henry!" I yelled, bursting through the door to face two startled men. Roluck sat at his desk, clearly having been interrupted in the middle of writing a report. I couldn't help but notice the pictures lining a wall on one side of the room, most of them footage of Elura. Henry sat at a chair across the desk, distress clear in his face. I was not feeling anger so much as an overwhelming need to drive the point home to him, "None of us may live to see the next couple of years!"

"You deserve all the time you can g-" Henry started, but I immediately silenced him.

"I would trade two more years of wandering around the Migrant Fleet for another minute with you."I told him quietly. I could see Roluck smiling behind him. "In an instant."

"And I would kill for just one more second with Krylin." Roluck added. "Even if that second was us dodging disgustingly accurate mortar fire."

"I know." He said, with a nod to Roluck "And I feel the same about you, Lena. It's this goddamn shadow war and the big one that will soon be breaking out after it. I just feel like dragging you all over the place in a ship and getting you shot at constantly just isn't doing right by you."

"It's not right by you, either." I pointed out. "Nobody is getting what they want, now. All we can do is take what we can, when we can."

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. I found out, from a book on human body language, that it could mean a lot of things when they did that. With him, I knew it was worry. I know I felt it, too. It was wearing on me. Especially when we'd been apart. The feeling like he could be torn from me at any moment. Our circumstances didn't make it better. We were constantly risking our lives and it was getting very tiresome.

He'd had it worse, of course. He'd had to live with the guilt that Krylin had died saving him. It wasn't his fault, but I was sure he didn't see it that way.

"You're right." He muttered, "It's just so frustrating."

"It is." I agreed, "But I love you. We can't avoid our fate, so let's just live until fate claims us."

"Yeah." He said, nodding. I got closer to him, so Roluck couldn't hear us.

"I hear we're headed to the Citadel for a special mission after this next one." I told him, "One for Krieg, Roluck and Barin only. Roluck told me it'll take a couple days and we can get to the Fleet on this ship. You can meet my side of the family."

"You do have control of the ship." Roluck pointed out, my attempts at blocking him out of this part of the conversation failing.

"And then what?" Henry replied with a tired smile.

"Hopefully they don't try to murder you." I uttered sarcastically. He laughed and walked out of the room. I looked down at Roluck.

"At least there's good news." He said tiredly. "The asari and salarians are apparently interested in his training program, still unaware of what, exactly, it's used for. Their operatives, though, are closer to spies and saboteurs than actual combatants. With luck, this means other species will want to come aboard."

"Thanks, Roluck." I told him. He shrugged.

"Henry set the program up."

"I mean with Henry."

"You did all the talking." He pointed out.

"But you're a good friend to him." I argued.

"And him to me." He agreed. "But still, couldn't have done it without you. Admiral."

"Don't you start that, too." I groaned, throwing my hands up and walking out the door.

"Yes ma'am!" His voice echoed from his room.

I decided to finish with Allison, so I could go to sleep already. I took the elevator up to the bridge and made my way to the cockpit. I wasn't surprised to find an asari sitting in the co-pilot seat, as well as a pair seated to either side of the door. What did surprise me was overhearing Allison talking to Roluck through the comm transmitter.

"-working out great." she was saying, "I didn't know the asari were good for anything besides spying and stripping."

Allison's co-pilot glared at her, but Allison didn't seem to notice. Or care.

"Glad to see you're all getting along." Roluck's voice answered over the comm.

"Speaking of which," Allison said, "How are you getting along?"

"What do you mean?" He replied.

"You know what I mean." She said. "Anymore cases of turian brandy mysteriously go missing since Krylin?"

Roluck just sighed.

"We'll get her." Roluck said, undoubtedly talking about Elura, "Then I'll be content."

"Not worth driving yourself to death, Boss."

"Just...don't worry about me and steer the ship."

The line wasn't delivered harshly, but made it clear he was done with the subject.

"You got it." Allison answered. I cleared my throat and she looked back at me. "Ah, Lena. What do you need?"

"I've got some coordinates I need you to head for after we drop the action team off on the Citadel. Roluck and Henry have authorized the trip."

"I'm all for it, Lena." Allison said. I gave her the coordinates and she typed them into a terminal on her side.

"Where are we headed?" She asked.

"The Migrant Fleet." I informed her, "I have some questions that they damn well better have answers to."

"Well, don't let me stand in your way." Allison said.

"You never have." I told her, feeling a fond smile reaching up towards my face. "If anything, you've helped me and Henry more than anyone on the ship."

"I just didn't want him hitting on me." Allison laughed, "He's not my type. Too many scars."

I laughed as I walked off. If anything, they added to Henry's features. Though I'd never tell him that.

It was time to get some sleep. I was feeling weak and my body needed some downtime to fight this infection. As I walked, I raised the environmental controls in my suit to counteract my body heat so I wouldn't wake up bathed in sweat. I walked to my room and found Henry standing outside of it, arms crossed as he waited for me.

"Was Allison good with you heading to the Fleet?" He asked.

"Yeah." I said, opening the door to my room. He followed me inside, though we both knew there would be no fooling around right now while I was sick. I don't think he really even intended to stay in the room.

"Good." He said, "I'm glad we're going. I might even get to see what Zent looks like out of his suit! I've always been curious about what the males look like."

"I doubt you'll be seeing that anytime soon." I tempered as I lay down on the bed.

"It's a shame more quarians aren't seen outside their suits." He started, "I gotta get back to the weapons and armor. I have a LOT of projects to work on, all of the sudden."

"You know." I said, before he could leave. I felt like teasing him a little. "Most sex, even between quarians, happens outside the suit."

He stopped and looked back at me, confused.

"How does that ev-you know what? I don't want to know."

"It's exceedingly rare the way we've done it." I told him.

"And which way do you prefer more?" He asked with a silly grin.

"Make sure you turn the light off on your way out." I said, evading the question.

"You're no fun." He grumbled, turning the light off and closing the door.

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador_**

**_Peacemaker Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**


	27. Chapter 27

The team had been dropped off at the Citadel by the time I'd woken up. Henry had left with them for a moment, to 'take care of some business with Roluck.' He'd been back within an hour. After that, the Vengeance departed. That had been a couple horus ago.

When I woke up, I found myself slightly sweaty and decided I needed a shower. While the illness hadn't gone away by a long shot, the sleep had helped tone down its effects. When I slipped into the shower and turned the water on, the warmth left me blissfully leaning up against the wall as the water ran down.

As I washed, I idly wondered exactly what I was going to say to the Admiralty Board. This betrayal had been unexpected and completely irrational. There was no reason for me to not be kept informed of this. I felt disgusted at my own kind, a feeling I should never have to feel.

When I got out of the shower, I was halfway into my suit when I heard:

"Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance, please report to the bridge."

We must've gotten there already. I'd slept longer than I'd thought.

"On my way up." I replied. I finished putting on my suit and headed up to the bridge. When I got there, I found Zent'Alaar and Henry waiting. Henry wasn't wearing a rebreathing helmet, but simply a small metal filtering mask over his mouth and nose.

In front of the ship rested the Migrant Fleet. Tens of thousands of shifps drifted along quietly, ranging from fighters to liveships. Each ship had a certain shabby look about it that came to symbolize the fleet. It was almost amusing to think that while the Turians had the most powerful fleet, the qurians had the biggest. Three liveships were at the heart of the fleet, surrounded by the Heavy Fleet. The Civilian and Patrol Fleet floated around that. Uncomfortably enough, there were a dozen cruisers of the Patrol Fleet aiming guns right at us.

"This is Captain Irel'Narr vas Reis." A voice came over the comms, "Our scanners register you as a Council vessel. Identify yourself immediately."

"This is Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance." I replied into the comms system. "I'm here to speak with the Admiralty Board."

"Confirm." He demanded. I felt a little annoyed with the man's stubbornness.

"After time adrift among open stars..." I started, then decided that I didn't have the patience for protocol. "Stop delaying me, you bosh'tet, I need to speak with the Admiralty Board immediately. I will be bringing a human on board, so make sure there's a sterilization team ready to meet us."

It was unusual for an Admiral to scold a Captain, which showed when he seemed stunned as he came back over the comms.

"I...I'll take you to them, now." He stammered, "They're on the Rayya."

A ship from the Patrol Fleet turned away from us and started off towards one of the bigger capital ships. We followed him as all the guns on the Patrol fleet slowly made their way off of the Vengeance.

"You know," Allison said as she started steering the ship, "You guys are a very friendly bunch."

I ignored her as we followed the cruiser to one of the docking bays on the capital ship. We docked and I looked at Henry. I couldn't help but feel anxiety. Not about the Admirals, but about my parents. They were staunch traditionalists and as such, had been incredibly proud of me being announced an Admiral. They were not, however, so proud when they found out I was bonded with a human. There was scolding and yelling, followed by a simmering anger as we parted ways.

When we walked out of the airlock, I found myself within the familiar architecture of a quarian ship. The passageways were cramped, dark and filled with cargo and supplies. In the dank lighting, particles from decontamination fields floated everywhere, making the passageways seem almost dusty. There was a reception, here. Three Marines and a decontamination crew, to be precise. They seemed a little jumpy when Henry sidled up next to me and hands unconsciously went to weapons.

"Calm down, Marines." I ordered. They hesitantly eased up. The decontamination team sprayed an uncomfortable-looking Henry down, before retreating back down the hall.

"Lieutenent Aalo'Gruin vas Rayya." The lead Marine introduced, "We're under orders to escort you and your two companions to the Admiralty Board."

"Lead the way." I ordered. The three Marines placed themselves around us and began walking us forward. There were people here and there. Every single one of them would glance at us and then stare at Henry. Some of them even pointed, like he was a freak on display. I felt myself bristle a little, but forced myself to calm down. A few years ago, I would've been the same way. They just needed to see the value of bringing other species into our lives.

We arrived in a medium-sized room, which held a large terminal in the middle that displayed all kinds of data regarding the maintenance requirements of the Fleet, as well as all kinds of other data that kept the Admiralty Board up to date on what was going on. The Conclave was a way to talk through issues while the terminal was to keep an eye on those issues.

Five Admirals stood there, in front of the terminal and sorting through data.

"Lena'Zuril." Admiral Gerrel, leader of the Heavy Fleet, greeted. He had quite the reputation and while he was a kind man, he was also known to be quite the gambler with operations. "We were surprised when we heard you were coming."

"And I see you brought your...companion, with you." Admiral Xen, leader of the Research Flotilla, observed. She was a cold one. Years of researching the geth and AI had distanced her from the living. Now she only saw technology and experiments, above anything else.

"As I understand it, he is the Captain of the Vengeance." Admiral Koris, of the Civilian Fleet, replied. He was a man that I sometimes liked and sometimes hated. He was shamelessly political, but was the only Admiral (besides myself) who saw the geth and recognized a chance for peace instead of war. He backed his people when needed, but had the habit of being a pain in the ass. "He has every right to be here."

"Still," Admiral Raan, the Admiral in charge of the Patrol Fleet, started. She was an Admiral I had always like. She was highly skilled as a tactician, but hadn't left her roots behind when she became an Admiral. She was always kind and had a good word for everyone. "It is good to see you, dear."

"Maybe you'd like to tell us why you're here?" Admiral Zorah asked. Him I could never be sure about. He was a smart one and I always got the feeling he was holding something back. He was in charge of the science that went into this fleet. His daughter, though, I had met a couple times in the last two years. She was something of a celebrity, having fought alongside Commander Shepard before and during the Battle of the Citadel. She was one of the few quarian I had any respect for.

"Leave us." I ordered Lieutenant Aalo'Gruin. He immediately about-faced and left with his men. The Admirals looked at each other, clearly seeing the tone I'd set for this meeting.

"I found Sergeant Zent'Alaar." I told them, gesturing to Zent. He stayed motionless, clearly not too pleased with being in the spotlight. "One of my Marines. I was under the impression that when my Marines went out on missions, I was notified and I gave approval. So imagine the confusion I found myself in when Sergeant Zent'Alaar told me he'd been sent out by the Admiralty Board under the impression that he was doing so with my approval."

I expected a reaction from Xen or Zorah. Maybe even from Gerrel oor Raan. The man I did not expect it from was Koris, who straightened in what was clearly surprise as the others looked around in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Raan asked.

"I was approached by Admiral Koris." Zent replied, sounding very uncomfortable. "I was told that the Admiralty Board had approved me to go to on a mission to Erilei, which apparently has an atmosphere similiar to Rannoch."

"You did what?" Gerrel and I demanded, rounding on Koris. I felt anger towards Koris, for bypassing me and risking one of my Marines. Koris ignored both of us and looked at Zent.

"A-and what did you find?" He asked.

"Not sustainable, sir." He replied, shaking his head. Zoris' shoulders visibly slumped. That's when I realized what was going on here. So did Xen.

"Still trying to oppose this war, Koris?" Xen asked, her tone mocking. "Still trying to keep us from reclaiming what's ours?"

"We're on path for this in two weeks." Gerrel told the man. "We will have Rannoch back!"

Instantly, my anger towards Koris disappeared. I knew exactly what he'd tried to do and I loved him for it.

"Wait." Henry said, finally piping up in a tone that indicated he was incredulous. "You KNOW there is a war with the Reapers coming. I understand that you can't get the Council to listen to you on that point, which is something even we haven't been able to do. But right before a war to prevent the extinction of the entire galaxy, you want to start a costly war that may very well wipe out your people?!"

"Our people need a home planet." Xen replied smugly. Henry was at a loss for words.

Ever since the geth had forced us off-world, we'd become accustomed to sheer hatred of them. There were very few people who were sympathetic towards the geth. I happened to be one of them, due to my experience with the geth during our last outing. I'd learned that they were sentient as well, not just monsters like we pictured them. They had their hopes and their fears just like the rest of the galaxy.

With some digging, I'd found out exactly what had happened between the quarian and the geth. After the geth started to achieve sentience, we panicked and attempted to kill them all. Predictably, the geth acted in self-defense and drove us off world. That was the part they never really taught us. I could understand why, but it still disgusted me. It was part of the reason I was so disillusioned towards my own people.

Admiral Koris had attempted to stop the invasion by finding planets that could possibly sustain our people without years of preparation. Not knowing my leaning towards the issue, he had done so right under my nose. From his slumped shoulders and bowed head, he figured he'd lost. That now, the Admirals could remove him (with my support) and find someone else more sympathetic to their cause.

Sure enough, Admiral Zorah went right in for the kill.

"It seems our Admiral thinks he can get away with deceiving us." He said quietly, his tone victorious. "A truly dispicable act in such a time of need. I say we have a vote and kick you out of this Board."

"You need every Admiral's agreement for that decision." I stated coldly.

"And with you here," Raan replied offhand, "We have it."

"No." I told her, "You don't."

Admiral Koris looked up at me sharply.

"Zuril." Gerrel said in a warning tone. I wasn't having it, though, too disgusted by the Admirals to even listen to them.

"I stand against this war." I told them solemnly. "I stand with Admiral Koris. And while you may be able to override the two of us and start this war, I'll find a way to stop you. I can promise you that."

"It seems we made a mistake when we made you Admiral." Gerrel replied coldly.

"Not from where I stand." Henry commented.

"Then maybe we should recall your crew." Xen said, taking a shot directly at me.

"With all due respect, ma'am." Zent replied from behind me, "Her crew has been designated 'vas Vengeance', meaning they fall under the Captain of the Vengeance, whose authority overrides yours. Since Captain Vether is indisposed on the Citadel, Lieutenant Gerrard is the temporary Captain."

"Needless to say," Henry spoke, "Recall denied."

His comment wasn't helpful to the situation, but I felt emboldened.

"Admiral Koris, if I could have a word."

"Absolutely, Admiral." He stated, headed for me. Henry didn't waste the opportunity for a parting shot.

"You may be some of the best fleet commanders the galaxy has." He said, "But you are some of the most foolish people I've ever met."

The other stunned Admirals didn't even try to raise an objection when Admiral Koris followed me through another door, through two hallways and out to a wide garden plaza. Plants filled the plaza and rows of benches were lined up for us to sit and simply admire the view. I would've myself, if I didn't have more pressing matters.

"Lieutenant Gerrard, Sergeant Alaar." I said, trying to maintatin professionalism, "Please remain outside and warn me if one of the Admirals are coming."

"You got it." Henry said, following Zent outside.

"Thank you for your support." Koris said, "We just came within inches of destroying our entire species."

"I wish you'd told me." I said.

"With you gone all the time I didn't know where you stood." He told me, "It was better, this way. We still need to find a way to delay this until the Reapers arrive. After they get here, we can help fend them off and then move on to the Rannoch situation."

I pondered, then came up with a thought.

"Henry." I spoke into my comms, "Can you come in here, please?"

The door opened and Henry entered, looking confused. Admiral Koris seemed slightly wary of him. I turned to Henry.

"Can we send our Marines to your program?"

"Program?" Koris asked.

"It's a training program." Henry explained, looking thoughtful. "We've been training militia and espionage types around the galaxy under the pretense of preventing piracy. A lot of the species are on board with it. We teach infantry tactics and leadership. Usually, the courses last about three or four months."

"That...could work." Koris said, folding his arms and looking at Henry, "We have 75,000 Marines, what could be done?"

"We'd need a lot more trainers and supplies." Henry replied immediately, "But I think we can provide some from the Fourth Fleet, Marines and the krogan. The Alliance and krogan knows the score with the Reaper threat and will do what they can. If we cycle twenty-five thousand Marines through at a time, will that be enough to halt the invasion?"

"It will." I assured him. "We need all our forces ready to attack Rannoch. As long as Koris and I sign off on it, the Admiralty board cannot stop us from cycling them through. That should give us about a year to come up with something else."

"Then I'll talk to Councilor Anderson." He said, looking at Admiral Koris. "I'll explain the entire situation to him and he'll get me the resources I need. We've set up permanent training grounds on Tachunka, as well as established supply lines to keep the training going."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Koris said, nodding to Henry.

"Don't thank me." He replied, pointing at me. "She's the one to thank. I'm just the coordinator."

"I believe you give yourself too little credit." Koris replied. "This will be a good opportunity to strengthen interspecies relations, as well. Ancestors know we've been needing to reach out to the galactic community for years and though most of the Admiralty opposes it, most of our people want it."

"Then I'll do what I can." Henry said.

"I am in your debt." He said, "Both of you. Now, I imagine you'll need to see your family, Admiral Zuril?"

I looked at Henry, then at him.

"Yes." I told him, "We have...a lot to discuss."

"I don't doubt it." He said, then he looked at Henry. "Keep her safe, Lieutenant."

"She won't let me." Henry complained. I felt myself blush as Admiral Koris laughed.

"Well," He said, "We expect no less from the Admiral of our Marines."

He turned around and headed back through the doors we'd entered.

_Putting pieces into play._ I thought to myself.

"Sergeant Zent'Alaar," I said, "Please come back."

"Yes, ma'am?" He asked.

"How does a promotion and a year-long posting on Tachunka sound?" I asked him.

"Tachunka?" He asked, surprised.

"You'll be in charge of handling our people who are going through the training program down there."

"I-I can do that." He told me with a nod. "I can definitely do that."

"Then get to your ship and pack your things, Commander." I told him, "Henry and I are going to take a couple hours, and then we'll be back here to depart. Make sure you're here as well."

"Yes ma'am." He replied. He walked out of the door and I looked at Henry, who was watching me with an eyebrow raised.

"And you." I said softly, "You need to come with me."

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador_**

**_Peacemaker Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**


	28. Chapter 28

"Alright." I told Henry quietly, "Remember to be extremely respectful."

We'd transferred over to one of the Patrol Fleet ships, after dropping the crew off on the Rayya. They'd all wanted to visit and see a familiar ship. They'd been given the same orders as Zent and then they were on their way.

The Kalerei was a smaller ship, with the standard clutter in the hallways and the standard motes of decontamination particles lazily drifting through the air.

"-reports of a Collector attack on the colony world of Horizon." A voice from a radio was saying as we rounded the corner into a small room and came face to face with my parents.

They had apparently been waiting the moment they heard we were on the ship, from what it looked like.

Ethra'Zuril vas Ilenu was a proud woman and always had been. She wore a dark green cowl with patterns that signified the clan we belonged to. She wasn't as tall as my father, but was every bit the capable Captain he was. I couldn't help but notice that she was nearly trembling in excitement.

Vathin'Zuril vas Uneru stood taller than most quarian, which put him at the same height as Henry (Who, from what I understood, stood at about average for a human). He was a little more broad, too. He crossed his arms across his chest in clear defiance. I noticed him taking in Henry's scarring and the missing chunk of his ear.

Despite my father's clear mood, my mother threw herself at me.

"Lena!" She yelled, wrapping her arms around me.

"Hi mom." I replied, uncomfortably aware of how my voice sounded.

"Are you sick?" She asked immediately, sounding terrified.

"It's okay, mother." I told her, "I just had a small suit tear. I should be over it in a couple days."

"Shouldn't you be protecting her?" My father demanded of Henry.

"I was, sir." Henry replied through clearly gritted teeth. "With a sniper rifle. I made myself."

"Stop it, father." I commanded, "He's one of the best soldiers I've ever seen. There was nothing he could've done, I just got a little careless."

Henry and dad glared at each other for a long moment, then my dad turned to a nearby table and gestured to it. We all took a seat, Henry included. He folded his hands in front of him and I noticed that he was trying his best not to look threatening. It was a little endearing, especially given that he couldn't manage it. In the end, he just kind of slumped so it looked like he was smaller. I had to resist laughing at him, until my father started talking.

"Not that I'm displeased to see you." Dad said, "But why did you return?"

"Politics." I grunted, the word more than enough to get my point through.

"That's all it ever is with the Admirals." Mom said, "It's incredible that they manage to steer a ship without bickering about it for two hours."

"It was a...very large issue." I told them, "They were about to go to war with the geth."

"And why didn't you back them?" My father asked.

"Because ethical ramifications aside, it's really bad timing." Henry replied. "There's something enormous coming. And soon."

"Outsider problems are not our problems." My mother dismissed casually.

"This isn't an outsider problem." I told them, thinking it'd sound better coming from me than...well..an outsider. "This is a galaxy wide problem."

"What is it?" Dad wondered.

"You know that ship that attacked the Citadel and decimated the Alliance and turian fleets?" Henry asked. They both nodded. "Imagine over a thousand of those."

"And how is that our problem?" My father asked.

"A handful of them could mow down this entire fleet." I answered quietly. There was silence around the table. "I know we don't typically get involved with outsider's issues. But these ships, which we have taken to calling 'Reapers', don't care who you are. They'll kill us all, whether quarian, geth, human or asari."

"That'd explain the new tempo of training operations around here." Dad said, "What's being done about it in the Council?"

"Nothing." I answered.

"Why not?!" He demanded.

Henry smiled mirthlessly.

"Politics." He answered.

"Of course." My father answered bitterly, his anger not aimed at Henry.

"We're doing what we can, sir." Henry answered, "But we have to sneak under noses and lie and make underhanded deals to get what we want. But there is no price too large to ensure we're ready when this comes."

Another silence, followed by:

"You've got a good mind for these things." My father said. I smiled behind my mask. If there was one thing my father hated, it was politicians. It seemed like Henry had picked a good common enemy. I wanted to cheer for him, though I had no idea if he'd done it intentionally.

"We were a little...shocked...the first time we heard about you." My father said, putting it very mildly. "How did you two first meet?"

I looked at Henry, who looked back at me. I still remember it. Not in a romantic light, seeing as I'd been so confused I'd barely registered being grabbed in the first place. I did remember being dragged into the ship, though. The pirate had gone up front after strapping me to the bulkhead. I'd seen the explosion of glass as his cockpit shattered and a spray of blood when Henry had nailed him. That's when I'd seen Henry, through what had been the cockpit window. He'd stood tall, with a sniper rifle almost the size of him and trudged down the hill to come get me.

After that, I'd pretty much been sold. He'd been funny, laughably endearing and tough. It'd nearly broken my own heart when he'd mentioned Elizabeth, the sister he'd used to have.

"He saved my life." I told my parents.

"Really?" My mother asked, sounding impressed, "How did that happen?"

"I'll...spare you the details." I said, looking at Henry. He looked a little bit embarrassed, much to my enjoyment. "Let's just say a slaver grabbed me and tried to take off with me and well...there's a reason Henry's one of the best snipers in the Alliance."

"How did you get together?" My dad asked.

I laughed to myself, thinking of the story.

"We were terrified of each other." Henry chuckled. "Apparently, we'd liked each other for some time, but neither of us had the guts to say anything."

"Until he took some shrapnel for me." I told them, smiling at him (Even though he couldn't see it). "Then he wrote me a message that he was considering sending me. Our nosy helmsman beat him to it, though. She told me he thought I looked like a...turian, was it?"

"A turian?" My mother cried in outrage, looking at Henry. He raised his hands defensively.

"She made it up." Henry assured her, "I never said that."

"I showed him a picture of me." I continued. "And he showed me the message."

A couple seconds passed in silence, then my father asked,

"How long do you two have here?"

"We've got a couple hours." I told my father, "Zent and the crew are exploring the Rayya and saying hi to their families, for now."

"Would you like to visit the gardens?" He asked softly.

I smiled and tried to hide my tears. I knew, then, that even though they weren't sure about me being bonded with a human, they were trying. They'd accept me no matter what.

"I thought you two-" I started, feeling a tear or two welling up past the fever.

"We...realize we left things on bad terms last time." Mother said, "We're...trying to understand."

"I guess love has the final say." My father answered. "Now, would you two like to join us in the gardens? We've been working on them since you left, Lena. You'd be surprised how much they've grown in just a week."

"I'd love to." I told them. I looked at Henry. He sort of shrugged and I knew he'd come with me. We stood and walked the path to the gardens of this ship. It wasn't as big as the Rayya, but a cruiser still usually had gardens. Everyone pitched in and it gave everyone a little piece of beauty amongst the metal and the cramped hallways and these damned suits.

We moved into the gardens. It was a smaller area, but it was incredible every time I was in here. Plants and flowers grew on both sides of the path, with windows behind them that looked out at the stars. Artificial light beamed down on the plants, which filtered through the decontamination spores and gave it the look of a rainforest. It was beautiful.

"We want you to know that we're proud of you." My mother said, "My daughter, the Admiral of the Migrant Fleet Marines. Who would've imagined?"

"We...we just got these, full grown, from of a trader." My father told me, pointing at some flowers right up against the path. I gasped and bent down, touching the red flowers.

"Roses." Henry muttered in surprise.

When I was very young, my mother got back from her pilgrimage. She had visited Earth for a week and had managed to bring me back a single rose. I remembered that I'd cut my suit open on the thorn and been sick for two weeks. I'd been so smitten by the flower, though, that I'd kept it by my bedside. I'd even cried a little when it'd died.

"We thought of you." Dad said, "We know how much you'd loved that flower as a child. Which was why we brought you a present."

Carefully, he reached down and grabbed something behind the plant. I recognized it as a tiny hydroponics unit, used to keep plants alive for long periods of time. He gently plucked snapped a rose off from the bush and placed it inside the unit. He closed it and switched on the light and handed it to me.

"We know you don't have anything from home." My mother said, "We wanted something to keep you going during the hard times."

"We know what you're doing is important." Dad said, "But while we may get frustrated with you sometimes, we want you to come back."

I ignored the present, feeling a rush of emotions as I threw my arms around my father, just glad that I still had a home to come back to. When I grabbed the present from him, he put an arm around my mother and turned back to the plants, with me by his side. I reached out and found Henry's hand. he curled his numerous fingers around mine gently as I laid the side of my helmet on his shoulder. For a moment, there was only silence as we all looked at the flowers and plants, happy to have a moment of complete peace in our hectic lives.

And of course, something went wrong.

I heard the softest click right behind me, one I'd learned to identify very well. It was the sound of the safety being taken off a pistol.

I reacted instantly, spinning around to find a quarian with a pistol coming up in both hands. He wasn't an experienced gunman, merely an amateur. I grabbed him by the wrists and forced the gun to point at the floor. He struggled, until one of Henry's fists swung into view and slammed into the man's helmet. He yelled in alarm when Henry tackled him and immediately began to panic as Henry grabbed the man by the mask and ripped it off. He began to yell, until Henry silenced him with another fist to his face.

"You just had to ruin it!" Henry yelled at the downed attempted murderer. "We can't have five goddamn minutes!"

My mother and father looked shocked.

"Get to your ships, now." I told them. "We never met today, do you understand?"

"What's going on?" My mother asked, but I'd already figured it out.

"I knew they'd be angry." I told Henry, "But this angry?"

"We need to send them a message." He replied. Then he looked down at the failed assassin. "And I know just the one."

I nodded to him, then looked at my parents, who still stood immobile from shock.

"Go!" I yelled, "Now!"

"Take care of her, Lieutenant." My father said before disappearing around a corner.

"Crewmembers." I ordered over a dedicated channel, "Report back to the Vengeance immediately. There has been an attempt on my life. The Fleet is not safe."

Henry picked the man off the floor by his neck and started walking. I stayed ahead of him, making sure nobody was there. When we got to the airlock, he opened the airlock and boarded the Vengeance. Errahe was at the door, gun out and clearly about to board the ship. He looked surprised when we opened the door.

"Heard transmission." He said, "We were informed you were murdered. We got the crew. Was about to board the ship."

"It was an assassination attempt." I told him.

"Allison!" Henry yelled, walking to the cockpit and still holding the unconscious assassin by the neck.

"What do ya need, boss?"

"This asshole just tried to kill Lena, courtesy of the Admiralty Board. I need you to get up alongside the Rayya's windows. Then radio one of the admirals and tell them, from me 'Try that again and you'll look like him.' Then get us out of the Fleet. Got it?"

I knew what he planned to do. It was brutal, but it was necessary.

"Like the way you think, Henry." Errahe said as Allison undocked and started to move. He grabbed a rebreather by the door as Allison shut the hatch behind us.

We were out in the zero-gravity of space, so everyone kept a hand on something. I kept one hand on the rose and the other on a bar as Errahe and Henry picked up the would-be assassin with a hand each. As the Rayya passed, they heaved and threw the body into space. Their aim was perfect and he landed, splayed out, right on one of the biggest windows of the Rayya.

"Let us in." Henry ordered. The airlock opened and I stepped inside, with Henry and Errahe hot on my heels. As Allison left the fleet and calculated a jump to the Mass Relay, Henry looked at me and shook his head.

"Politics." He grunted.

Despite everything that had just happened, I laughed.

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador_**

**_Peacemaker Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**


	29. Chapter 29

We swung by the citadel to pick up Roluck, Krieg and Barin. When we did, Roluck immediately ordered us to the briefing room. We all took a seat and Roluck looked at Henry.

"How did the visit to the Fleet go?" He asked.

"I'm...probably not welcome back there." Henry answered. "And Lena has to watch her back when she visits."

"What the hell happened?" Roluck wondered, his mandibles pressed tightly to his face.

"The Admirals tried to maneuver their way into a war with the geth." I answered.

"Now?!" Barin yelled in anger, slamming a fist on the table, "When we could very well see the Reaper invasion in this solar year?!"

"Quarian very insular." Errahe responded. "Galactic issues seen as problems of other species, not quarians. Very foolish."

"So then what happened?" Roluck asked.

"We've delayed it, for now." Henry said, "Lena and another Admiral are working together and I've got 25,000 quarian Marines headed to Tachunka to train. This will force the Admirals to wait until the training is over. In a year."

"And then?"

"And then they tried to assassinate me." I grumbled, still completely disgusted that the Admiralty Board would stoop so low. "So Henry and I subdued the assassin and tossed him out of the airlock and at the Admiral's ship."

"Ha!" Krieg laughed, "That'll show em."

"We need them for the Reaper War." Roluck pointed out.

"If it comes down to it." I said, "I can just overthrow the Admiralty Board citing a flaw in Fleet security. Hopefully, it won't come down to that."

"We'll burn that bridge when we come to it." Henry said. I looked at him, confused. Humans had some of the strangest sayings. "So what did you find out, Roluck?"

"Right." Roluck said, "I found out where Elura's been squatting."

I could almost feel the excitement in the room. I knew that Roluck and Henry both had a pretty serious score to settle with her. She'd killed the woman Roluck loved and had beaten a hole through Henry's stomach.

But then, why would she still be working for the Reapers? Unless this other Reaper took over the indoctrination.

"Where?" Henry asked.

The holographic view in the middle of the table came up again. It looked like a massive asteroid field, except that it wasn't asteroids. It looked more like tiny moons all floating around in a small space.

"Rothla." Krieg explained, "It was destroyed in the Krogan Rebellion, though nobody knows how. Now it's been reduced to a bunch of little moons moving around and slamming into each other. It'd be the perfect place to hide, since nobody goes in there. I'd always heard rumors of a few bases there with gravity generators to keep the other moons away, but I always assumed they were just rumors."

"Because nobody besides us would investigate." I said.

"It's the perfect spot to hide from the galaxy." Roluck said, "It's been deemed off-limits."

"What's she doing there?" Henry asked. "I mean, we know the Reaper is out and about, but it hasn't assaulted a major target yet."

"It attacked my ship, asshole!" Barin argued, his eyes flashing in rage as he looked at Henry

"And I regret the loss of your ship and crew." Henry shot back evenly, "But compared to the attack on the Citadel, that's not a major target."

Barin seemed to concede the point, leaning back in his chair. Roluck glanced at him, then said,

"Right, well, I don't rightly know what she's doing." Roluck answered, staring at the table in thought, "But it can't be good. We'll be there in a few hours, get ready."

"You got it." Henry replied, as we all got up.

I had some time and I knew Henry was busy, so I decided it might not be a bad idea to talk to everyone and get a good sense of what was going on with them. It was something I often did with my Marines back on the Flotilla. It let them know that somebody out there was there and looking out for them.

So when everyone had departed, I plotted my first move. I decided that I'd make sure Allison was okay with what Henry had done to that assassin. I knew it was necessary, even though I certainly wish it hadn't been. Had he not done that, the Admiralty Board may have very well reached out to find an assassin elsewhere in the galaxy. Now, they were probably too afraid of the retribution to attack me.

When I got to the cockpit, I passed the trio of asari, who mentioned they were headed down to the lounge. I continued on to find Allison talking to Roluck over the comms system.

"-sure you're going to be able to navigate that field?" Roluck asked, "You pilot like a drunken varren."

"I pilot it better than you handle your gun, sir." Allison said.

"I handle my gun very well, actually."

"I bet you do." Allison replied, smirking. I wasn't quite sure what she was getting at, but it seemed as though she'd tried to make a joke.

"First Henry, now you." Roluck grumbled, "Why do humans use 'gun' as a euphemism?"

"Gotta go." Allison teased, "I've got an Admiral here."

She turned off the comms channel and looked up at me, her green eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Can I help you, Admiral?"

"Don't call me that." I groaned. "You seem in good spirits. I wanted to make sure you didn't think less of Henry after what he did to that would-be assassin."

"Think less?" She asked incredulously, her eyes wide, "I'm only sorry I couldn't do it to the son of a bitch myself."

I was surprised at how accepting of it she was. I think she must've seen it in my body language, because she raised an eyebrow and said:

"When somebody tries something like that, the rules are off the table. You do what you have to. Not to mention that they made the major mistake of trying to kill you while the man who loves you was with you. I think he handled it quite well. Did you get to see your parents?"

"I did." I confirmed with an unseen smile. "It went...surprisingly well."

"That's good to hear." Allison said, then turned back to her controls. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to start stretching my fingers for this next flight"

"Fingers?" I asked, bemused.

"These buttons aren't going to press themselves." Allison replied loftily.

I laughed and walked out of the cockpit. I realized I hadn't talked to our newest crew member yet and decided it was past time I did so. Since he worked with explosives, I imagined he'd be down in the armory, with Henry. I chuckled to myself as I walked into the elevator. That was a disaster just waiting to happen.

When I stepped out of the elevator, I found that my conclusion was correct. Barin was building something on a second table. He kept fixing an aloof Henry with a scowl every few seconds. Henry did look up at me as I entered, though.

"Lena." He said, shooting me a quick smile.

"Just here to talk to Barin." I answered. Barin looked up, then jerked his head towards a corner of the bay, where he started walking.

"Yeah." He said, his smile dropping. "Speaking of which, I should probably talk to Roluck."

"I'm headed up there soon." I told him.

"I'll join you, then." He answered.

"Alright." I said, before walking past him and heading to the corner where Barin waited with arms crossed.

"I didn't want to talk in front of him." He said, jerking his head towards Henry.

"You don't trust humans, huh?" I asked.

"Does any self-respecting batarian trust a human?" He shot back. "No, I don't trust him. I have no reason to."

"He helped us save you." I pointed out.

"Let's not pretend I was anything but a source of information." He growled.

I decided to let it drop.

"So tell me about yourself." I said.

"Not much to tell." He replied with a shrug. "I was just a Corporal in the army and I already told you what happened that got me locked up."

"If you don't mind me asking," I started tentatively, "Why didn't you become a merc or a slaver?"

He sighed and scratched his thigh with a hand.

"Not all batarians join up with slavers and mercs, but I suppose we've given that image." He explained morosely. "I'm not a monster. The practice of slavery is probably half of the reason we've become so isolated. If we could drop that trade and find some resources to build a better economy, we would have a chance of becoming a Citadel species again. Maybe even a Council species, if we turned our reputation enough."

Wow. I thought to myself, It's a special find to see a batarian who's seen past all of the brainwashing and realizes that they could have a place in galactic politics if they'd just stop being so aggressive.

He seemed to get a little distant.

"I only signed on here because I don't know what else to do. I've been banished from my home and my family. The idea of mercenary work and slaving is repulsive and the only skills I have are blowing up shit and shooting."

"You miss Kar'Shan?" I asked.

He seemed to snap out of it, glaring at me.

"None of your damn business." He answered. "Besides, I've heard some things about you, Admiral."

The emphasis he put on the word 'Admiral' bothered me.

"Such as?" I asked, crossing my arms defensively.

"You and the human." Barin replied.

"Is it just advertised when somebody joins the crew?" I wondered. "Welcome to the Peacemaker. This is the bridge, here's the shuttle bay, the human and quarian are having sex and this is the bathroom."

"Your species is one of the few that have no ties to the Citadel." The batarian hissed, "Why the hell are you getting involved his kind?"

"You see that piece of his ear missing?" I asked. The batarian nodded. "He got that while defending the crew with only one other person when an entire platoon-sized element of geth attacked the ship. He had my species and the turian crew lock themselves in engineering during the fight."

He didn't answer, merely gazing at Henry, then at me.

"One deed, to make up for thousands." He said, refusing to listen to reason. Without another word, I spun around and walked away. When I passed Henry, I gestured to the elevator. He followed me into the elevator.

"That must've been fun." He leveled, undoubtedly referencing my talk with Barin.

"He'll come around, I'm sure." I told him. "I'm much more worried about Roluck, right now."

"Me too." Henry replied.

"I'm getting some sleep in about a half hour." I told him, "Maybe you'd like to join me?"

"Can't." He answered, "I've almost finished that rifle Roluck wanted."

"But...I'll be all alone..." I whined mockingly.

"I know." He muttered. "I'm sorry, I've just got so much to work on between missions tha-"

"I'm just teasing you." I said, forestalling his words, "I understand."

I looked at his face. He seemed exhausted, with hair on his face that told me it'd been a bit since he shaved. The dark lines under his eyes had deepened and even as we stood here, he seemed a little wobbly.

"When was the last time you got sleep?" I asked.

"It's been a couple days." He answered.

"Then you definitely need to get some, soon."

"I plan to." He assured me, "Right after we finish this mission."

"You better." I ordered him, smiling. "I want you in my bed after this next mission."

"Yes ma'am, Admiral." He answered with a smirk.

I sighed in frustration.

"Just please, don't get obsessed." I asked him.

"I know." He answered quietly. "I'm not gonna become like Roluck. Which is what I wanted to talk to him about."

"Me too." I told him as the door opened.

We made our way to Roluck's office and when we got in there, found him at the computer. I once again eyed the wall behind him that contained dozens of surveillance and security photos of Elura. Roluck looked up as we entered and smiled.

"Nice to see you two away from the briefings and the missions and the crew." He said, flashing us a tired smile. "All I do these days is write bullets and shoot reports. Or something along those lines."

"That's part of what we wanted to talk to you about." Henry said, seating himself in front of Roluck's desk and crossing a leg over the other.

"What?" Roluck asked severely, looking up in clear surprise.

"We're worried about you, Roluck." I said, deciding that since Henry was getting right to the point, I might as well do the same.

"Why?" He asked, seeming honestly confused.

"Because of the way you've been acting, lately." Henry said, gesturing to the wall of pictures behind Roluck. "We don't know what we're going to find out there and you're galloping in half-cocked."

I didn't know what the latter half of that sentence meant, but I got the gist of it well enough. So did Roluck, from the way his mandibles flared out angrily. He slammed an armored fist on the table, making me jump. I realized that I'd never seen him angry before. His gaze was fixated on Henry.

"That bitch killed Krylin!" He yelled. "I don't care why she did it, but she is damn well going to see the business end of my rifle for it. Krylin was the only person in my life besides my brother! Maybe you don't remember what happened well enough, Henry!"

"Don't remember?" Henry said quietly, his voice dangerous, "She put a hole through the hole that was already in my goddamn stomach, Roluck! Of course I remember. I don't want to see you lose yourself to vengeance!"

"Get ready for the mission, Lieutenant." Roluck growled. Henry, clearly seeing the futility of arguing, stood up and started to leave. He stopped, then turned around to look at a livid Roluck.

"I was there too, Roluck." He spoke quietly. "If you think I don't feel guilty for my part in that, you're dead wrong."

And with that, he left. There was a long moment of silence, then Roluck directed a glare my way. I just shook my head at him, then followed Henry out. To my surprise, Henry had already disappeared, doubtlessly in the armory. I had no doubts that he needed his space after that conversation, so I decided to go visit Errahe.

Errahe was in the mess hall, getting something to eat. I decided to grab something for myself. As I screwed the paste in to the induction port, I sat down with him.

"Lena." he acknowledged with a nod. "Surprised to not see Henry here."

"He needs some space." I told him, "He and Roluck got into it."

"Over Elura?" Errahe asked, in a way that told me he pretty much already knew the answer.

"Yes." I replied.

Errahe went uncharacteristically silent, poking at his food in thought.

"I expected a joke." I told him.

"Thinking." He said.

"About a joke?" I wondered.

"No." He sighed. He looked up at me with the most serious look on his face I'd ever seen him wear. "Getting old, Lena. I'm thirty-one. I can still fight, still kill, but..."

"But?" I asked.

"Want to see this through." He said, "This mission and the one that will follow will be the most important mission any of us have ever been on. For a salarian, I have not lived a clean life. High probability I won't make it past thirty-five."

"That's...depressing." I told him.

"Not all I'm thinking about." He admitted. "I'm terrified that I may live to see the end of the galaxy, Lena."

I sat back in my seat and honestly thought about it for a moment.

"That's...a very sobering thought." I agreed.

It was incredible to think that of all the generations of our people, I was of the unfortunate group that would get to see the Reapers spill out into the galaxy and attempt to destroy all life.

"Things are going to get hard, Lena." He said. "We need to be prepared. Mentally."

"I'm prepared." I assured him.

We passed the rest of the meal in silence and just as Errahe left, Krieg showed up. I still wasn't done with my paste, so I stayed in my seat. He grabbed a ton of meat and sat down across from me.

"How's the daughter?" I asked.

"Bikir's learning to talk." He answered gruffly. "I just got the vid this morning."

"And you can't be there." I surmised.

"Yeah." He said, looking at the table as he lost himself in thought. "The day a mission takes precedence over krogan's own daughter is a sad day, indeed."

"I wish we could go back to our lives." I agreed. "I wish Sovereign had been the end of it."

"Bah!" He yelled, surprising me. He was wearing a mischievous grin. "No you don't. You're one of the very few quarian I've seen with a quad. You'd go crazy within a month without something to shoot."

Despite the levity of the conversation, I found myself laughing.

"A couple years ago and that would've been true." I told him, "But...things have changed so much since then."

"Gerrard?" He asked.

"Not just that." I told him. "The galaxy has changed. I'm looking at the role of battle in this galaxy in a whole new perspective."

I looked at him. I imagined that the expression on my face was pretty serious, though neither of us could see it.

"The greatest threat this galaxy has ever known is coming." I told him, "Billions are going to die. And look how we're preparing. Only a few of the Alliance are helping. Those that are having to go around their own people. The krogan are the only species that is trying to repair. My people are trying to start a war with the geth, who are not the mindless robots I used to think them. Our own leaders are willing to kill me to make sure it happens."

I sighed.

"Billions are going to die." I repeated quietly, "And everybody's too busy bickering. What role does a soldier have in this galaxy anymore, when all that matters is the politicians?"

He laughed, then. It was a great belly laugh that startled the few crew who were here.

"Because when politicians fail," Krieg answered, a gleam in his eye, "Which they always will, it falls to the soldier to do the job they can't: Defending the innocent."

"You'd see soldiers rule the galaxy?" I asked, amused.

"No." He said, "Politicians should always keep things running, but they have no place in war."

"And make no mistake." He said, glancing around the mess hall and then gazing at me, "We will soon be at war."

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	30. Chapter 30

Roluck and I went to the cockpit, to watch the show. I was interested to see how she fared. Roluck was overseeing, I imagine. He wouldn't look at me or talk to me. Allison hadn't objected, as long as we stayed clear of her and the six asari on the bridge. The artificial gravity would keep us on the floor, though we could still get thrown around a little.

"Coming out of our jump in 3...2...1." Allison announced.

The blue field that surrounded a ship through every jump disappeared, revealing a field in front of us filled with asteroids the size of small moons hovering about everywhere. Some were moving, others were not. There was a lot of debris around, too. Some of it was from building that had been on the planet before its destruction and some was from ships that had tried to pass through. Not the most...encouraging thought.

Allison didn't jump in immediately. She looked at one of the asari to her left.

"Enyra," she said, "Are the scanners picking up anything unusual?"

"There is a gravity profile in there that goes against the profile of the rest of the field." Enyra reported from her terminal. "Forwarding the coordinates now."

Allison looked down at her screen for a moment and nodded.

"This...is going to be hard." She muttered. She looked up at Roluck. "Boss, maybe we should reco-"

"We're going, Corporal." He answered evenly, his tone making it clear that he would brook no disobedience. It was scary to see. His gaze was fixated on the field, his mandibles only making the slightest movements.

Hesitantly, Allison began to steer towards the field. She slipped under the remains of a cruiser and the ship started to shake.

"Microdebris." Allison muttered. She didn't glance away as she jumped into the atmosphere of one of the bigger asteroids and began to skim over its surface. "How are the shields holding up?"

"Shields at ninety-five percent." Enyra reported. "We're holding."

Allison pulled out of that atmosphere and started hopping through the moonlets' atmospheres. Though the leftover atmosphere was not enough to sustain life, it was enough to keep smaller debris out. I knew this wouldn't last forever, though. Deeper in, there was a thick field of debris and asteroids.

As Allison descended towards another asteroid, there was a blast that rocked the entire ship. My knees nearly buckled, but I was able to keep my feet.

"Incoming hostiles." Allison reported.

Sure enough, a pair of enemies suddenly darted out in front of the frigate. They were both small, round constructs with red 'eyes' up front. They were moving fast, nearly as fast as us. Between the two of them, they would be able to outmaneuver and trap us.

"Reaper tech?" I wondered aloud.

"Must be." Allison said, pulling out of the atmosphere and back into space, "They don't match any ships I've ever read about or seen."

"What can we do?" Roluck asked.

"Well," she replied, anger clear in her voice, "Since you were so damn insistent about us being in this debris field, not fucking much. I don't have enough space to flip on them and try to take em out that way."

Roluck went silent.

"I'm glad your revenge might get an entire ship full of people killed." I told him. He glared at me, but said nothing.

"The only shot we got is moving into the more dense areas of the debris field." Allison said.

That was not an answer I wanted to hear. The debris field further in looked completely impossible to navigate through. It was just debris and moonlets everywhere.

"Not an option, Coporal." Roluck replied, before a pair of hits jerked the ship around again. I stumbled, my back slamming into the door frame to the cockpit.

"It's our only option." Allison snapped back, "We won't last out here and it's too late to get out."

Roluck looked very uneasy as she raced towards the field. The asari looked downright terrified and I didn't even pretend that I wasn't worried.

"What's going on up here?" I heard Henry ask, walking up behind the two of us.

"Captain-fucking-Vendetta over here decided we just had to enter this debris field, despite my objections." Allison answered. "Now we have two enemies on our ass and have to zoom right into a debris field so thick a salarian couldn't fit his right nut in there!"

I laughed nervously, the joke doing nothing to soothe my singed nerves.

"Great." Henry muttered. I noticed Roluck shoot him an angry glance. We all watched, tense, as Allison shot for a hole in the debris that could just barely fit us. The little ships were in pursuit, firing on our engines and throwing The Vengeance about again.

"Enyra!" Allison yelled, "Prepare to shift 90% shields to the rear. Theira, cut the engines on my word!"

Confused, they did what they were told. Allison was leaning forward in her seat as she steered, her eyes narrowed in concentration. We closed to the gap at fifty hundred meters.

"Theira!" Allison yelled. The ship suddenly slowed, headed for the hole.

"What are you doing?" Roluck asked. Allison ignored him.

Just as we started to slip through the gap in the debris, Allison looked at Enyra.

"Enyra!"

Enyra pressed a button and there was a sudden jolt behind us and I could see the two ships split from behind us and careen into the debris to either side. Abruptly, I realized what Allison had done. She'd stopped the ship in the only gap in the debris, then directed most of the shields to the rear. The quick vessels, having nowhere else to go, had slammed into the shields and been sent off course. Right into the debris.

"Good job, Corporal." Roluck said.

"Yes, Captain." She answered coldly. Roluck declined to follow that up. "Redistribute the shields, Enyra. Theira, give me...eh...sixty percent."

The ship moved again, a little slower than it had before we stopped. Allison was, with only a little difficulty, able to swing it through the debris field. When we came out on the other side, the sight was impressive.

There were tiny moonlets bunched close together, all of them attached by machinery. A powerful gravity generator somewhere on there was keeping them spinning and forcing debris to slowly spin around it.

There was silence, for a moment, followed by Allison looking at Enyra.

"Anything on the scans?"

"No defenses." Enyra said, "I don't think they expected anyone to get this far. I've got heat signatures all over the base."

"We'll split up." Roluck said immediately. "Lieutenant Gerrard will take Krieg and Errahe by a drop in the Mako. I'll take Admiral Zuril and Barin in the shuttle. We'll work our way to the middle. Respiratory systems on everyone."

Without a word, he swept towards the Command Center, where the rest of the team was waiting. Allison looked back at the two of us.

"Clearly you pissed him off." She said. "This is really bad."

We didn't say anything, but Henry just nodded.

"We're working on it." I said, before hoisting my shotgun and walking to the elevator with Henry. He didn't say anything as we got into the elevator with everybody else. There was uncomfortable silence as we rode down to the shuttle bay. As Henry led his team to the Mako, Roluck led Barin and I to the shuttle. We got in and Roluck quietly headed for the controls.

"You're clear, shuttle team." Allison said. The door in front of us opened and I saw the desolate brown surface of the moonlet below us. As Roluck piloted the shuttle out of The Vengeance, I observed the surface out of the open hatch.

The buildings down there were small, built for nothing more than utility. Definitely not an organic construction. Whatever was in there, though, clearly needed air. Otherwise, they'd be out and about and shooting at us.

We landed right next to the entrance. There was no point in landing too far out; it'd just give whatever was in here more time to prepare.

"We've touched down." Henry reported, "No resistance thus far. Approaching the building."

I took point, since I had the shotgun. The other two had assault rifles. I knelt down in font of the door, shotgun pointed inward. Barin and Roluck pressed themselves to either side of the door. I gave Barin a nod and he pressed the button. The door opened.

There wasn't much beyond the door. The hallway was dark, without much in the way of electricity or systems. Clearly not meant for anything beyond being buildings.

Roluck jerked his head towards the door and I responded by heading in first. I turned the flashlight on at the front of the barrel and found even more nothing. I started walking slowly, carefully.

"We've encountered no resistance." Henry reported. "It's strange, she said there were heat signatures here."

"Same here." Roluck said, "Corporal, are you reading anything?"

"Still heat signatures, sir." She answered, her voice very...tight, "I can't pinpoint them. Maybe they're in the middle facility?"

So we walked. And walked...and walked some more. It was quiet, unnaturally so. We went five minutes without seeing anything, just walking through the dark hallways. Eventually we made it to what looked like an elevator.

"This is wrong." Roluck said, checking the inside of the elevator and finding it clear.

"We've just gotten to an elevator." Henry reported quietly. "There's been no resistance. At all. A few locked doors here and there, but that's it."

"I don't like this." Roluck said, "But let's get in these elevators. I'm sure they lead to the central facility. If there's anything on this base, it'll be there."

We got in the cramped elevator with me up front, holding the shotgun. I'd been in many combat situations over the course of my life. Nothing had ever been anywhere near as tense as that ride was. There were no windows and nothing to tell us how far away we were. There were no lights, either. We just waited, in a pitch black elevator zipping through space to the central moon.

After a minute or two, the elevator came to a stop and revealed more nothing.

"What the fuck?" I heard Henry mutter over the comms channel. "This is starting to stink like hell."

"I don't smell anything." Roluck answered as we exited the elevator and into another small corridor.

"It's a saying." Henry told him, "Means this is very suspicious."

"In that case," Roluck answered, "I agree. This feels like a trap."

We passed into a large central hub. This one room was different from every other room we'd been in. It was spacious. There were terminals of all kinds, along with a wall covered with screens that showed...something. I couldn't be quite sure.

In the center of the room, huddled under one of the terminals, was Elura.

Something was very wrong with her. She still wore the same armor she'd been wearing when Henry had been attacked by her. Her purple face had gone pale and grey and she looked very skinny. Her crimson eyes were wide and staring down at the floor as she slowly rocked from side to side. She sounded like she was singing to herself. The crests on her scalp were standing up, something I'd never seen before in an asari. She was smiling, but it looked too wide. It was crazed and wrong.

"Elura." Roluck growled.

The door opposite ours opened and Henry stepped through with the rest of the team. All of them stopped when they saw Elura.

"What the hell?" Henry muttered. Roluck ignored him, though. He strode over to Elura, who clearly wasn't even aware any of us were there. She just kept smiling and singing and staring at the ground. When he grabbed her by the front of her armor and pulled her up, her head just lolled back and she continued singing at the ceiling. The smile remained. I saw her hand curl and start to swing back, like she was going to hit Roluck. But it stopped suddenly and I noticed the slightest ripple of pain touch Elura's features.

"Elura..." I whispered, barely able to comprehend the woman in front of us. Barin looked completely floored and I could see him slowly backing towards the wall, all four of his eyes wide. Errahe had dropped his weapon and was staring at her, his normally wide eyes even bigger. Henry was at a loss for words and even Krieg looked totally shocked.

"Don't play crazy with me, Elura!" Roluck yelled, his voice desperate. He seemed to be holding her away from himself, like she was riddled with plague or something.

"Roluck." Henry said quietly, "Look at her. I don't think she's playing."

Roluck stared at Elura, who didn't seem to notice that she'd even been dragged off the floor. He finally released her and she fell to the floor on her butt. She just sat there, staring at the ceiling listlessly as she sang. Roluck raised his assault rifle to her face.

For the briefest moment, the shell that was Elura dropped her head to finally lock gazes with Roluck. I saw the barest glimmer of recognition and sadness in her gaze. A broken smile even seemed to tug at her lips. Then he pulled the trigger, putting a round through her head that dropped her to the floor. I saw the life leeched from her eyes and she exhaled her last breath.

Without pause and with complete silence, Roluck moved to the terminal she'd been under and started typing.

"We're going to need her for the Council." Roluck told Henry quietly. Henry nodded and turned her over. He slowly bandaged the wound in her head, to keep her from getting blood everywhere. I noticed her blood seemed to be a grayish-blue color that couldn't possibly be the blood of an asari. I could've sworn it was red.

"She left a message?" Roluck wondered aloud. Henry looked up at that as I started sweeping the room, making sure there were no surprises.

"Play it." Henry suggested.

There was some tapping, then:

"I heard you're coming."

It was Elura's voice, but it didn't sound right at all. It sounded high, more of a screech that her voice.

"I have a few moments of clarity." She said, "Sanity. As long as I can have. Sorry, Roluck."

I looked up, amazed. Her face had shown up on one of the screens in the front. She looked just like she had earlier, but more focused. Agony filled her features, but she kept talking.

"She meant a lot." Elura gasped, her eyes suddenly glazing over. She began to shudder, but she forced it away. Her rambling was disjointed and incomplete, but she kept going. "Don't blame...self."

"Spirits." Roluck whispered. His eyes were wide and his rifle hung limply from his hand

"Henry, didn't...di-didn't want to." She said, clearly referencing how she'd nearly killed him. "Sovereign. Hurt me. Tried to stop. Hurt me more. Proud of you."

"Locked the troops away." She whispered, "But Vanguard coming. It controls me now. Won't let it beat me. Will fight. Please forgive me."

"She fought them for two years." Henry muttered. "Fought them to the last. She was indoctrinated by Sovereign, then by this Vanguard, but she wouldn't let them take her so easy. Even to her last second, she refused to let them win."

"A true warrior." Krieg grunted. "A shame to see her die like this."

"We'll...I'll..." Roluck started, then stopped, at a loss for words. "Lena, see what you can download."

I pushed past him, possibly a little rougher than I had to. I started typing away on the computer, looking through anything useful. I finally just decided to download anything I could. I made sure every file was clean, before I downloaded it. When I got all I could, including the video, I started to close out of the system.

"I've got bad news." Allison said, coming out of over the radio. "And I've got very bad news. Which would you like first?"

"Bad." Roluck answered.

"You've got a billion enemies headed your way." Allison replied, "Through the elevators."

Roluck looked at me after Allison said it. I just shrugged.

"I didn't touch any controls."

"Very bad?"

"I'm picking up an energy signature slowly managing to make its way through the far side of this debris field. ETA two minutes. It's huge. Twenty to one says it's a Reaper."

"Start plotting a course through the debris field and plot us a jump out of here." Roluck said, "It's about to get very rough, down here. Barin, get some explosives on the far wall. Lena, can you find a way to disable the gravity system?"

"It's 'Admiral', Captain.' I reminded him as coldly as I could. The correction didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the team, who looked at Roluck in surprise. "And yes, I can."

"Good." He said, brushing off the correction, "Because unless I miss my guess, this is a sort of Reaper barracks. Whatever Elura was turning into, I bet there are hundreds of them here. Of all kinds."

"They could start hitting colonies soon." Henry pointed out. I scrolled through the lists until found the command suite for the gravity generators.

"We ready?" I asked Roluck. He nodded. I fired up the disable program and soon, there was a groan as the elevators began to take the slight variation in orbit that the moonlets were producing. They tore, releasing the moons into the debris field.

Enemies began to pour out of the hallways leading to the elevators. Apparently, they'd managed to get some troops offloaded onto the central station.

These enemies, though, were twisted. Every single one of them looked like they'd gone through exactly what Elura had.

"Barin!" Henry yelled. Barin was near the wall and he yelled.

"Just finished! Everyone move back!"

I fired on something that looked almost human, but was too grey and had bright blue where his eyes should've been. Husks. We'd never encountered the in the war with Sovereign, but I'd read about them. They were what the Reapers left after they took control of humans.

The husk fell to the ground, knocked down but not dead. There was a blast behind me that nearly flattened me to the ground, but I kept my feet. I decided that I'd rather keep these monsters at a distance and pulled my pistol.

"C'mon!" I heard Henry yell, pulling me by the arm. I followed him outside, still keeping myself facing the enemies. I saw Krieg pick up Elura's body, sling her over his shoulder and fire into what used to be a turian. There was a roar and something suddenly pulled out into the main floor as I stepped over the threshold of the building and onto the brown surface.

The thing was huge, easily eight feet tall. It looked like a krogan that had been magnified, but it was all wrong. There was armor plating randomly covering its body, but its head was the worst part. It was decidedly turian.

It roared again, beating its chest as Krieg stepped out, the last one to leave the building. I heard a whining behind us as we all concentrated fire on it. The Vengeance was hovering right behind us. Rounds pinged off of the thing and it seemed , with a large boom, the Vengeance fired its cannons into the facility and blew it apart. There was just enough oxygen in the atmosphere that the inside of the facility started to catch fire. I released the breath I'd been holding.

"C'mon!" Allison yelled into our helmets, "No time to stop and see the sights!"

The shuttle bay doors opened and we all climbed aboard. Just as Krieg and I were about to get on, movement caught my eye. We both looked up to the far side of the debris field, to find something pushing through it.

It was a Reaper, the same kind that had nearly destroyed the Citadel two years ago. It looked so menacing as it cleared the field and started racing towards us.

"Keelah." I whispered in awe. Krieg seemed similarly amazed.

"Let's go!" A voice screamed in my ear. Allison. I snapped out of my daze and hurried up the ramp with Krieg in tow.

"We're clear!" Roluck reported. The shuttle bay door started to close, but we were already moving up and out of the atmosphere. Everybody tensely waited until the door closed all the way to take off their helmets.

No words were spoken as the ship started to jump and kick around. I looked at Henry and we started racing for the ladders. The elevator would take too long. Near the elevator, the ladder waited. Henry practically threw himself at it and started climbing as fast as he could, with me right behind him. I heard a sound and looked down to see Roluck following us up. We climbed all the way up to the Command Center. I urged myself on as we headed for the bridge.

"How're we doing?" Roluck asked when we reached the cockpit. All I could see was debris, but Allison was finding the smallest holes and easing the debris out of the way.

"Trying to get through." She said, "I'm forced to go full speed, because that asshole isn't going around. He's going through the debris."

Henry clutched at Allison's chair as we all watched Allison pull under a derelict cruiser.

"Prepare the jump, Enyra." Allison ordered calmly. Enyra nodded and started pushing buttons.

"C'mon..." Henry muttered, then let out a loud breath when we cleared the debris. Allison started scraping past moonlets, but she was weaving a lot.

"You can't see it," she said, "but the fucker's shooting at us. Esra, push the shields 70% rear."

Another asari started calling up commands. We shot out of the atmosphere of the moonlet and Allison said,

"Hold on. Enyra, hit it!"

With a jerk, we were all suddenly thrown off our feet as the Vengeance performed a very rough jump. The blue field surrounding us informed me we'd done so safely.

"Good job, Allison." Roluck said, getting to his feet.

Allison unbuckled herself, stood to her full height and looked at Roluck with eyes that may as well have been wreathed in flame.

"So I guess we're on a first fucking name basis again, sir?!" She yelled, fire in her eyes before storming off down the bridge. Enyra took her place at the helm, quietly directing controls. Roluck didn't say anything, but just watched her go before looking at Henry.

Henry, for his part, pointed an accusing finger right at Roluck's face.

"You've fucked up." Henry informed him quietly, before turning and going after her.

I gave Roluck a long, hard look. Then I followed Henry.

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador_**

**_Peacemaker Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**


	31. Chapter 31

Right now, we were waiting to get back to the Citadel. Henry was almost finished with whatever project he was working on, while I was reading and bemoaning the lack of a Mako to sit on. The shuttle bay felt empty without both of the vehicles there.

At the moment, I had a request from the Admiralty Board. The request lacked the normal pomp and fluff of a normal mission request. Which meant the Admirals were scared of me.

_As they damn well should be._

The request was to send a platoon of Marines to the Alarei, where geth had taken over. Apparently, Admiral Zorah was in there. I felt guilty when a little part of me hoped he wouldn't be found alive. I approved the mission and just watched Henry put the finishing touches on the Cerberus Harrier. It was bulky and fired only on three-round burst, but had little recoil with the modifications. He'd stuck a scope and a barrel on it.

The only reason I wasn't chiding him for working was because we were spending the next day on the Citadel and he could sleep then. Roluck's orders. Councilor Anderson had been very appreciative of the data we'd sent. He was also curious about Elura's body, but Henry told him that he'd have to brief him in person. Councilor Anderson had accepted the reply. Henry had gotten in touch with his father and told him he'd be on the Citadel. His father had some time off while his ship was in port, so he wanted to meet Henry and I. After the briefing with Anderson and some lunch with Henry's father, we could both get some sleep.

The elevator opened and Roluck stepped out. He spared us a glance before striding over and talking to Barin. Barin wasn't exactly happy right now, having received news that a batarian colony had been annihilated in an explosion of a Mass Relay. Apparently, Commander Shepard had been involved.

I noticed an anger in Henry's features. He hadn't spoken a word to Roluck. I knew he wanted to. They both had mission-oriented issues to talk about. For example, how exactly we were supposed to kill Sovereign's little brother.

For some reason, Roluck was moving to each and every crew member and talking to them. The expressions were all serious, save the look on Roluck's face. He looked ashamed.

_What is he doing?_I wondered to myself.

Finally, Roluck approached us as Henry started slamming the pins home into the weapon to secure the receivers. Roluck cleared his throat, but Henry didn't even acknowledge him.

"Lieutenant." Roluck said uncertainly. Still no response. Roluck glanced at me, then back at him.

"Henry." He spoke quietly.

This time, Henry did respond. He straightened up and turned to face Roluck. He crossed his arms and leaned up against the table, waiting.

"I've apologized, in person, to every soul on this ship." Roluck told us. "You two are the last."

Henry didn't answer and neither did I. I certainly wasn't going to make this easier on him. He was a very capable commander and one hell of a soldier, but his rage had nearly gotten this entire ship destroyed.

"You tried to warn me." He said to both of us. "You came to me not as comrades-in-arms, but as friends. I turned you both away."

"We know." I answered, feeling no pity for him. "We were there."

"I should've listened." He said, wringing his hands. "You two were trying to help and I thought you were being insubordinate."

He sighed and looked at the floor, slowly shaking his head.

"I was expecting to find a monster." He reasoned. "Hell, I wanted to find a monster. I wanted to blame her and not myself. At least, that's what Errahe says. He may have a point."

He looked up at Henry.

"And not you." He told Henry. "I've come to terms with your part in Krylin's death. It wasn't your fault and I know that."

Another sigh.

"I went there hoping to find a monster." He said quietly, his words pained. "I instead found the bravest, most broken woman I've ever met. I hope you tell the Councilor that even though she needs to be researched, her remains should be treated with the respect she deserves and with the least invasive methods possible."

"I will." Henry said, nodding but keeping the stony look in place. "I can assure you of that."

"I said sorry to the rest of the crew." He told us, looking between the two of us. "And I saved my friends for last. The two of you were right. I've been so hellbent on revenge that I've lost sight of everything else important. So...I'm sorry."

Henry wordlessly turned his back to Roluck. I almost chided him, moved by the gruff turian's heartfelt words. Then Henry turned back around and threw the Harrier at Roluck. Roluck caught it and ran his claws over it. He looked up at Henry with wide eyes.

"You finished it?" He asked, surprised. His voice was hopeful and disbelieving, all at the same time. "I didn't even know if you could make it."

Still not speaking, Henry reached under the bench and dragged something else into the light. It was an entire suit of armor for Roluck. The same colors remained, though I noticed the extravagant Blackwatch seal painted in black over the red armor. The armor looked bulky and it looked thick. It would weigh most down, but Roluck was usually the most exposed of the group. He needed all the armor he could get.

Roluck looked down at it, his mandibles working, but no words coming out.

"I-I don't know how humans work." He confessed, "You're not still angry?"

Henry leaned back up against the table and crossed his arms.

"Am I still angry after you apologized?" Henry repeated with a smirk. "What are we, women?"

"Hey." I snapped, a little annoyed, "I'm standing right here."

Roluck and Henry broke into laughter. Roluck clapped Henry on the shoulder.

"Make sure you get some sleep on this visit, Henry." He said, "You need it."

Then he looked at Lena.

"You too, Lena."

"We've got to meet with Anderson to take care of a couple things." Henry told him, "Should only take a half hour, at most. Then we're having lunch with my father. You should join us. Then we'll be coming back to the ship for some sleep. I promised Lena I would and...well...damn, she has a temper."

I punched Henry in the arm and he held it with exaggerated care, looking wounded.

"Look at that!" He yelled, "Abuse, I tell ya."

I smiled and Roluck laughed.

"So will you be there at lunch, Roluck?" I asked.

"I've...got a few words to say at Krylin's memorial." Roluck answered, "Then...yeah...I'll be there."

He walked off with a nod to the two of us.

"That went well." I said as he entered the elevator.

"I'm glad he apologized." Henry said, "I didn't want to have to take command of this ship from him."

"You would've done it?" I asked, surprised.

"Normally?" He asked, "No. I'd do my best to fix it. But our mission is too damn important. We've got a Reaper out there. Worse, it's probably pissed because we destroyed one of its bases."

"You think it was going to start hitting colonies?" I wondered.

"Why not?" He asked, "Think about it. Vanguard takes a few colonies in the Terminus systems. Knowing how the Terminus systems work, he could easily take a dozen and convert their inhabitants into whatever Elura was turning into. Then he gets in a war with us."

"And while we're busy fighting Vanguard..." I replied, following his logic.

"The rest of the Reapers show up and catch us with our pants down."

I laughed. Humans really had the strangest sayings.

With him unoccupied for the moment, we decided to head up to the cockpit. We found Allison there, looking a little less angry than before.

"How're you doing, Allison?" Henry asked.

"Better." She said, "The Boss apologized. I don't think anyone realizes exactly how close we came to getting killed."

"We know." Henry said, sounding exasperated, "If you weren't such a badass, we wouldn't have had a chance and we'd all be dead."

"I'm glad someone recognizes it." Allison said. Henry laughed. "Seriously, though, I want to make a request."

"What's that?" Henry asked.

"An AI." she answered immediately. "Nothing fancy, but there needs to be a cyberwarfare suite on this ship. After what happened with the geth and with us up against a Reaper, our network security is a huge concern."

"I'll look into it." Henry said as we came out of the jump to find ourselves staring at the Citadel.

Even having spent some time there, I still couldn't manage to wrap my head around how big the Citadel was. I wondered exactly what kind of role it'd play in the war to come. The arms of the Citadel were spread out, almost like they were inviting us in.

We slowly pulled into the docking bay as Roluck and the rest of the team joined us on the bridge. Every time we were at the Citadel, everyone had business to take care of. Even Errahe was up here, though I knew he'd be escorting my crew around, as always. I was still a little disgusted that they needed protection, here.

When we stepped off and onto one of the docking ramps, we were all surprised to find General Toulius and Counclor Anderson there. Both of them looked very grim, but I supposed we did, too.

"Gerrard." Anderson said with a nod. "Vether."

"Good to see you, Anderson." I said.

"And you too, sir." Roluck told General Toulius.

"We got your report." General Toulius said, "You found Elura?"

"It was...somehow worse than we expected." Errahe answered for us all.

"What happened?" Captain Anderson asked.

"This new Reaper, Vanguard," I answered, "it had indoctrinated her. We found her on Rothia. They'd connected three of the moonlets together with a gravity system and reinforced elevators and were using them as a sort of barracks."

"That's very advanced technology." General Touius grunted.

"Very." I agreed. "Neither us nor the geth have anything close to that kind of technology."

And we were the two most technologically advanced species in the galaxy. The implications of this were not lost on either of our commanders.

"Did you destroy it?" Anderson asked.

"We disabled the gravity generator long enough to send the moonlets flying out into the debris fields." Roluck reported. "I'm sure they've been destroyed. Corporal Shields flew in and destroyed the central base while their forces were attacking us."

"What were these forces like?" General Toulius asked.

"Different for each species." Roluck reported. "Elura's body should give you some idea of what that's like. Speaking of which...Lieutenant Gerrard can brief you on the rest. I apologize, but I'm just not alright with how we found her."

He turned to leave, but General Toulius stopped him.

"You going to be okay, soldier?" He asked, eying Roluck.

"I'll be fine, sir." He told Toulius, "I just need a little distance from this mission, is all."

"Understood." Anderson replied as all of the crew started to file out of The Vengeance. "You all get some rest. From the report, it sounds like you've earned it. I've got a mission to follow this one up, but it's not immediate priority."

Everyone departed, save for Henry and I. I just didn't have anywhere to go, so here was as good a place as any.

"What's the issue, Gerrard?" Anderson asked.

"She was indoctrinated, Anderson." Henry said. "And not like Saren, from the reports I've read. This wasn't willing indoctrination. After two years, she was still fighting it, refusing to be turned into whatever the Reapers were trying to turn her into. She was losing, but it was one hell of a fight."

"Spirits." General Toulius muttered.

"She left a message for Captain Vether and I." Henry told them, "She wasn't...very coherent, but she was clearly very apologetic. She had managed to fight through the indoctrination just long enough to send a message, lock the army in the barracks away and resist until we got there."

"So she spoke to you?" General Toulius asked.

Henry couldn't answer, clearly still disturbed by what had been left of what had once been such a kind, caring woman.

"She couldn't speak." I answered for him, "Resisting Vanguard had extracted a heavy price from what little was left of her sanity. She didn't even realize we were there. She just kept Vanguard at bay so he wouldn't undue what little she'd done."

"My God." Anderson muttered.

"I recognize her need to be studied and I agree that it's necessary." Henry said, "But after everything she's done, she deserves to be treated with respect. I'd like to request that the examinations be as respectful and non-invasive as possible."

"Understood, Gerrard." Toulius replied. "Did...did you see Vanguard?"

"He didn't." I replied, "But I did. I saw it just as I was getting on the shuttle ramp. It was coming for us through the debris field."

"How big was it?" Anderson asked, his face almost set in stone.

"Not as big as Sovereign." Henry answered. "But still twice as big as the average dreadnought."

"How do we plan to fight something like that?" General Toulius asked.

"We need a bigger team, first off." Henry said, "We also need an AI, to prevent us from getting hacked the next time we meet Vanguard. We also need a replacement for the Mako and the Kodiak, since both were lost during that last mission."

"We can get those." General Toulius replied. "We need to find this Reaper with unorthodox tactics. Obviously, a frontal assault will just end with us getting decimated."

"We'll figure something out, sir." Henry told him. "For now, we keep its ground forces in check while we think of a way to deal with him."

"Well," General Toulius said, "At least we've made progress. Vether told us of a small investment we might be able to make that will take us out of the path of Mass Relay systems. Could be an effective place to hide civilians if war does come, so we're investing."

"But that's our work." Anderson said, "And good job, Gerrard. I hear your father is on the station. You'll probably be wanting to meet with him."

"Yes I do." Henry said, "By your leave."

"You have it." Anderson said. "Twenty-four hours. Get some rest."

"Thank you, Anderson." Henry replied. I grabbed him by the arm and gently pulled him away towards the elevator.

"I'm glad they took the AI idea so well." He said, "I was worried that might be a sticking point."

"They trust you." I told him. "They trust all of us."

"I know." He muttered.

When the door opened, we both strode onto the Presidium. I ignored the normal looks of disdain that I drew from the surrounding politicians and dignitaries. The military I saw around here gave me a nod or a wave, though. I wondered if they remembered me or if Anderson had warned them I'd be coming through. He seemed a lot more nice and tolerant than most.

We were passing a storefront when I spotted a quarian across the Presidium from us.

She looked as if she were young, maybe only eighteen or nineteen. Her envirosuit was simple, all black with a silver hood and wraps. Mine, given my status, tended to be a little more extravagant than most. Even I wasn't as bad as Tali, though and quarian traveling with Shepard could dress how they damn well pleased.

_She's probably still on her Pilgrimage._

She had just stopped at a shop that had a big sign that said "Now Hiring-No Quarians." I was about to turn away, when a pair of C-Sec officers descended upon her. Both of them were human and both of them looked very annoyed. I looked at Henry, who hadn't noticed a thing._  
_

"Quick detour." I told him, feeling that slow anger building within me. I kept on towards her, until I was within earshot.

"-ot doing anything." She was saying. "Was just looking for a job."

"Do you have a permanent residency?" He asked again, his tone indicating he already asked the question before.

"We already warned you befo-" The second started, before I cut in.

"Is something wrong?"

All three of them looked at me and I saw the quarian girl's eyes go wide. The two C-Sec officers, however, looked exasperated.

"Christ, another one?" The first said.

"This is Admiral Lena'Zuril, Commander of the Quarian Marines." The girl said, outraged. "She is worth a million of you idiots."

I was highly uncomfortable of being spoken of so highly. The two C-Sec officers looked like they could care less.

"I don't care if she's the queen of th-"

"What she means-" I heard Henry started behind me, "Is that Admiral Lena'Zuril is literally one of the, if not the, most dangerous quarian alive."

The two C-Sec officers looked at him and I could see their hands slowly inching towards their guns, not happy with being questioned by Henry. I got the feeling they were just looking for an excuse to arrest him.

"So go on." Henry said, "Arrest her. Try it, I'm in a really bad mood. I need the entertainment. And then, when you wake up, you can explain to Captain Bailey why you arrested a woman who helped save your comrades during the geth attack on the Citadel."

They glared at me.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" One of them asked Henry.

"Lieutenant Henry Gerrard, STT Zeta." He answered immediately. I finally turned around to see Henry smiling benignly, without a care in the world. The two C-Sec officers visibly paled. "The XO, in fact. I'd tell you that I take any threat to Lena as a threat to myself, but she doesn't need me to defend her. Just thought I'd come over and spare a few words so you to wouldn't end up in Huerta."

"We'll be filing a report." One of the officers replied, looking at him as they backed away. "On all of you."

"Go ahead." Henry replied, waving a hand dismissively, "I don't give a shit."

Once they were gone, I looked back at Henry again.

"I didn't need help." I pointed out, amused.

"I know," He said, "But you're a 'punch first, ask questions later' kind of person. I didn't want to have to bail you out once they sent a Spectre or army or something to stop you."

"Thank you, Admiral." The quarian girl said, "I...those two have been harassing me for a week."

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Lia'Vael nar Ulnay." She replied immediately. "I've been trying to get enough work here to go somewhere with a little more potential for my Pilgrimage."

"What are your skills?" I asked. "Maybe we know someone who could help."

"I...I'm skilled at vehicle and ship repair, as well as flying." She said, "I used to fix and fly shuttles between the ships in the Flotilla. Been doing that since I was ten."

I went quiet, trying to process that and figuring out if we knew anyone who could use that line of work.

"Have you ever been shot at?" Henry asked.

_Why is he asking that? _I wondered.

"A couple times while I was flying during pirate raids." She admitted, looking away from Henry. It was clear that he was thoroughly intimidating her, through no fault of his own.

_Wait, _I thought to myself, my mouth dropping, _Is he-_

"What do you know about Kodiaks?"

_He is!_

"Well, sir," She started, a little uneasy as she was forced to make eye contact with him, "I know how to pilot one well enough, though it's been a while. Fixing it is pretty standard, since it doesn't deviate too far from the usual shuttle maintenance."

"Because we lost our last shuttle pilot in the geth battle here." He continued. I was surprised he spoke of it so plainly, considering that loss nearly led to his death, "And while we've been making do, we could really use someone with expertise."

"Are you..." she started, staring at him, "Are you suggesting I-"

"It'll be dangerous." I told the girl, "You'd have to be willing to fly us in and out of combat zones. But I'm positive we'll find something for your Pilgrimage. Something useful."

"I don't mind the danger." She said earnestly, rubbing her hands together, "What kind of crew is it on there?"

"Multi-race." Henry answered. "Almost every kind you can imagine, quarians included. But they aren't shuttle pilots. We could use someone with that kind of skill."

"I-I'd love to!" She exclaimed. "When can I start?"

"How much stuff did you bring with you?" He asked.

"I...don't have anything." She answered, staring at the floor again.

"Good," Henry said, "Then we're taking you with us to see Captain Vether, our CO. You impress him, he'll let you on."

"Thank you!" She said, causing a few people around us to look scandalized.

"Come on." I said, gesturing for her to follow us.

We turned right back around and continued on our path, the young quarian girl behind us.

"Thank you." I whispered in his ear, grabbing him by the hand. I heard Lia'Vael gasp behind us, but she didn't make note of it.

"I didn't do it for you." He said with a shrug. Noticing my disbelieving silence, he continued, "Okay, maybe a little."

I was surprised when we got to the cafe to find Roluck already seated with Henry's father. they were both laughing about something.

Henry's father was a powerful-looking human. He reminded me very much of our Admirals. Maybe it was because he actually was an Admiral. The man stood when he caught sight of Henry and I. He struck a very intimidating figure, practically radiating authority and wisdom. When he saw Henry, though, he immediately shed the appearance and became Henry's father.

"Henry." He greeted, a smile on his face. "You've looked better."

"It's been a while since I've gotten some sleep." Henry replied, holding out a hand, "But we've got twenty-four hours on the Citadel and I can squeeze a nap in there, somewhere."

"Roluck and I were just sharing a few stories." Admiral Gerrard said with a smile, inviting me to take a seat. I did, with Henry following me into another chair. "Seems like your last mission was a little bit disturbing."

"Without a doubt." Henry answered.

I noticed Roluck give a pointed glance to Lia'Vael and I motioned for her to speak to him. She looked even more intimidated by him, but she still stepped forward.

"Hi, um...Captain Vether." She started, tripping over her words. I saw Roluck's expression shift from 'confused' to 'amused' in seconds. "I'm Lia'Vael. I...ran into your comrades, here and they offered me a job."

Henry's father was looking on with interest as I saw Roluck's mandibles flare out in surprise. He looked at Henry, then at me. I gave him an encouraging nod.

"And what job was that?"

"Shuttle piloting and maintenance, sir." She replied. "On the Flotilla, I operated, flew and repaired shuttles for eight years before being sent on my Pilgramage."

I saw a glint of something in Roluck's eyes. I wasn't quite sure if it was anger, but he did bring himself under control.

"Did they tell you what we do?" He asked calmly, "What happened to our last shuttle pilot?"

"Yes, sir." She replied, "I'm no soldier, but I've flown through my share of bandit raids before."

"And you're willing to take the risk?" Roluck asked.

"Yes." She answered immediately. I felt a little spark of pride for the girl.

Roluck looked at her for a bit, tapping his talons against the table in thought.

"Then welcome aboard." He said, finally. A smile came to my face and the girl nearly jumped with excitement. "We'll get you started on some lighter combat drops until you're ready to transition to heavier combat. Is that fair?"

"Yes! Yes, Captain, it is."

"Report to-"

"Roluck." Henry said, making a gesture with his hand where he drew it across his neck. I recognized it as a 'cease' gesture. "It'd be better if she didn't go back alone."

"Are you in some kind of trouble, Miss Vael?" Henry's father finally asked

"No." Henry said, "But we found her being questioned by two C-Sec officers."

"Did she commit a crime?" Roluck asked, drumming his talons on the table again.

"Existing, apparently." Lia'Vael answered.

"Well, take a seat, then." Roluck replied, pulling a chair away from a nearby table and placing it next to him. "Have something to eat."

The waitress came by as Lia'Vael sat down and I vaguely recognized her.

"This is the same restaurant where..." I started. Admiral Gerrard nodded.

When I'd first come to the Citadel to meet Henry's father, I'd been discriminated against in this very same restaurant. Henry had to pull out a badge to get me served.

"I remember you." The asari said, smiling. "And so does our manager. Would you be kind enough to wait one moment?"

"I...uh...yes." I replied, a little confused. The asari disappeared into the kitchens.

"What's going on?" I asked. Henry's father gave a little smile, but didn't answer.

After a moment, a turian in a robe came out of the kitchen with the asari in tow. The asari pointed my way and I felt myself tense up a little. I just wanted lunch, I didn't want to get into a full-blown argument.

He rushed towards us and I saw Henry's hand slowly drift down to his weapon. However, the manager stopped in front of me, his face serious.

"You're Admiral Lena'Zuril, correct?" He asked in a gravelly voice. I noticed people of all species looking at us and felt myself getting a little uncomfortable.

"Yes." I answered.

"I wanted to come out here and thank you personally." He said, "I still remember the argument I got into with the Rear Admiral over there two years ago."

He pointed out Henry's father.

"But then the attack on the Citadel came." He said, "I was trying to evacuate my family but we got caught in the middle of geth forces and C-Sec."

He smiled, his eyes warm.

"Then you and a huge krogan came charging through and took the geth out, allowing me to get my family to safety. I realized how short-sighted and bigoted I was being."

I didn't know what to say to him, stunned.

"Since the moment you opened my eyes, I've been serving every quarian and krogan who has come to this cafe, where most would refuse." He told me, "And anytime you or yours find yourselves hungry on the Citadel, just know that you eat here on the house."

My mouth worked, but I couldn't find the words.

"Tha...Thank you." I answered, still barely able to find the words.

"So blueberry, I believe it was?" The waitress asked.

"Y-yes." I answered.

"We'll have it out shortly." The manager assured me, then looked around the rest of the table, "And what will you gentlemen be having?"

The smiling group around me ordered while I sat still in my chair, amazed. Never in my life had I heard someone so openly speak their approval of the quarian. In front of a crowd, too. I looked around to find disapproval on many faces, but some of the faces wore smiles.

_And you can thank yourself for that._I thought to myself.

It was true. I knew that the few quarian who had been on the station during the attack had all fought back and fought hard, much to everybody's surprise. While the limited number of quarians on the Citadel were still treated with some suspicion, it was nowhere near as bad as before. A sign of change, maybe?

The manager and the asari walked off, with one more backward glance towards me.

"And it's little moments like this one that convince me the galaxy is worth saving." Roluck noted.

We all started talking and spent about an hour exchanging stories and niceties. Henry seemed very grateful for the opportunity to spend some time with his father.

"You know," Admiral Gerrard said, putting down his napkin after finishing a steak, "I've heard what you're going after."

The table went quiet.

"Yeah." I told him, "We've seen it."

"I'm told you don't really have a plan at the moment?" He mentioned.

"No." Roluck replied, "We don't."

"I do." He said quietly, glancing around. "You fly a damn asteroid into it."

Henry made a laugh that sounded more like a Varren barking as he looked at my father.

"Where do you come up with this?" He asked.

"Somebody already did it." Roluck answered quietly. "With a Mass Relay."

"You mean that thing Barin was on about?" Henry asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

"If he's batarian, then yes." My father answered. "Tell you what. Let our scientists figure out the best planet to do this at and we'll get the construction started. Meanwhile, you all make sure this thing doesn't attack any colonies. If Councilor Anderson and General Toulius agree with this plan, of course."

"I'll run it by them." Roluck replied, "In the meantime, I need to go and I think Henry needs to get some sleep before he falls over."

"He does." Admiral Gerrard confirmed with a smile.

We all said our goodbyes and headed back down to the ship. When we got on, we found it nearly deserted, save for an asari and a salarian. Seemed as though everybody else was on the Citadel. Lia'Vael thanked us several times before heading down to the Shuttle Bay to look at the Kodiak. Henry and I made our way down to my room. We entered and the first thing I saw was the rose on the nightstand. I felt my heart fill with pride. I slowly stripped off my suit as the decontamination protocol started. I notice Henry taking off pieces of his battered armor behind me. I still needed to find him something new to wear, that armor was very outdated.

I laid down on the bed, quiet. Neither of us were naked, not really in the mood for anything other than sleep. He scooted me over a little bit and laid down next to me. I threw an arm over his chest and we just lay there, quietly drifting off to sleep.

"We need a break." I muttered sleepily, right before my world went dark

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:  
Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman  
Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer  
Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot  
Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)  
Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)  
Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)  
Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)  
Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	32. Chapter 32

"So what's the mission?" Krieg asked when we all gathered in the briefing room. I was a little disappointed that Henry and I had slept so long that we didn't have time for anything besides breakfast and hygiene before coming up here. I didn't complain, though. Even sleep was a rare commodity, now.

Lia'Vael seemed to be settling in well when I'd talked to her. The crew had accepted her without too much hassle. She certainly knew what she was doing with the Kodiak, as well. It'd somehow looked even...shinier...when I'd seen it.

"Councilor Anderson had a proposal that helps both us and him." Roluck said, "We're headed to Omega. To a pit fighting ring, to be exact."

"This sounds like my kind of mission." Krieg replied with a smile.

"Krieg," Roluck said, "I want you to stay on the ship."

"What?" Krieg demanded, an edge to his voice.

"I know the STT paid for your contract to Aria T'Loak in full and you're on our payroll, now." Roluck said, "But I don't want anything Aria can possibly use as leverage over us. She's very smart and very ruthless, so I'd prefer to not leave you dangling out here for her to try to manipulate. This is as much a favor to you as it is to us."

"Fine." Krieg grunted, seeing the reason but not liking it.

"What the hell do we need to be at a pit-fighting ring for?" Barin growled, his countenance showing anger.

"There's a human there." Roluck replied, "Goes by the name of Giant. He's been informed that we're coming. He's a drop out from Grissom Academy due to 'behavioral problems'."

"That explains the favor we're doing the Alliance." Henry muttered.

"What's Grissom Academy?" I asked, confused. I'd heard it mentioned a couple times before, but never directly related to a mission.

"It's a human academy." Henry answered, "Does a lot of work with biotics. For one of their soldiers to drop out and start doing this is...disgraceful, to them."

"So that's the favor." Barin replied. "Figures."

"We'll be there soon." Roluck said, "According to the dossier General Toulius sent over, this guy is an expert at unarmed combat and one hell of a biotic."

"We could use him." Krieg said, "Not a lot of call for unarmed combat against that big krogan thing on the Reaper base but we find ourselves in a lot of confrontations with other forces."

"He's supposed to be fighting in an hour." Roluck said, "We should be able to make it in time. After the fight, assuming we're all impressed, we'll throw him an offer."

"We'll be there in fifteen minutes." Roluck said, "We'll be going in heavy, since it's Omega. Everyone get their gear and meet me at the bridge."

Everyone made sounds of agreement before leaving the room. I had no gear to really bring with me, to be honest, so I just decided to hang out around the bridge and wait. People slowly began to gather on the bridge, with Roluck being the last one up.

"We're docking now!" Allison yelled back to us. "You mind if I join you? I hear Purgatory is pretty da-"

"We need you to keep the ship running." Roluck said, "In case we need to escape."

"You're no fun." Allison complained, turning back to her controls. "Hardass."

"Just follow me and for those who haven't been here before, try not to touch anything."

We followed Roluck off of the ship and into Omega. As we stepped into a cramped, dirty, poorly-lit hall I realized that Omega had not changed in the least since the last time we'd been here. Everything still seemed bathed in that dark shade of crimson neon and dirt just hung in the air. Everybody we saw looked incredibly shady.

All of them were staring at us and I couldn't say that I blamed them. We were quite the group, with one of nearly every race in the galaxy.

"Thia place is disgusting." Barin growled.

"You'd be surprised how many of your people you'd find here." Roluck replied. "I don't think of every batarian as a slaving terrorist. Sometimes, though, it's hard to see your kind as anything else."

Barin, surprisingly, did not turn hostile at this. He merely stayed quiet.

Roluck continued to guide us deeper into Omega. I didn't think it could get darker and dirtier, but I was dead wrong. As we traversed through more tunnels and alleys, there was an increase of incredibly shady-looking types leaning up against the walls. They watched us as we passed and I noticed eyes drawn especially to Errahe and I. We were the weakest-looking of the group, I supposed.

"Anticipating improvised blade in lungs within minutes." Errahe commented airily, drawing the smirk of several surrounding thugs.

But Roluck and Henry both cut powerful figures. Roluck was dressed in his shiny new armor and was laden with enough weapons to bring down an entire battalion of mercenaries. Henry, as always, looked like he'd just stepped out of a knife fight with a krogan.

We took a left and I could hear yelling and laughing further on ahead. Roluck continued on, seemingly unconcerned with the change in volume. He strode into a large room, where there were people of all species gathered in a large circle around a pit that had been dug into the station.

"Up next!" An old krogan at the front of the circle yelled. "Our next fighter needs no introduction. A personal favorite of mine. And not just because he came from my clan. Drau Olgor!"

There was cheering amongst the crowd. We all managed to subtly slip to the front. I noticed a lot of people staring at me, some of them clearly wanting to do something. Barin was next to me, though I couldn't tell whether it was intentional or unintentional.

The krogan on our side of the ring was nearly the size of Krieg, who was pretty big for a krogan. He wore silver armor that looked like it'd just been polished. His red eyes glared down the other corner as he waited for his opponent to appear.

"This next opponent is fresh meat from Ilium!" The krogan announcer said. I heard laughs all around and could understand their ridicule. Ilium wasn't exactly the place to foster the skills of a pit fighter. Then again, anything was possible. "A human, going by the name of Giant!"

There were boos and laughter all across the room and once again, I couldn't blame them. A human going up against a krogan was just absurd. It was too bad our potential candidate had to fight a krogan to impress us. Had it been another human or an asari or something, he'd have a chance to impress us. Against a krogan, he was going to get annihilated.

The man who stepped from the other end of the ring, though, surprised me. He wasn't as tall as the krogan, but he would tower over Henry. Black hair stuck out at all kinds of different angles while mean blue eyes glared the krogan down. The Giant had a thick jaw, and a thin mouth that was pressed together in concentration. He was built thick, with a small amount of fat but much more muscle. He wore nothing but some black pants and a similarly colored short-sleeved shirt.

I was confused. What the hell was he doing in civilian clothes when there was an armored krogan across from him?

The old krogan announcer chuckled and yelled, "Fight!"

The krogan rushed the big man with a battle cry. Giant, to my surprise, didn't try to dodge it. The only movement he made was to lift his arms closer to his body and slide a foot back. When the krogan hit, he didn't try to hit back, he simply absorbed the momentum and twisted, throwing the krogan against the wall with a mighty boom. The crowd started cheering wildly as his fist glowed blue and he swung it up into the krogan's face.

Normally, punching a krogan in the face would lead to a multitude of broken bones in the hand, but Giant didn't seem to care. The hit staggered the krogan, but the krogan was able to recover quickly enough to swing on the Giant, who took the hit to the jaw in stride. The Giant got in close and grabbed the krogan by the shoulders. The krogan made to headbutt him, but the Giant blocked it with his elbow before locking his calf around the krogan's calves and pushing forward. The krogan, being incredibly heavy up top, tumbled to the ground on his back.

The Giant looked up for a moment and seemed to spot Roluck up there. He smiled, then straddled the krogan and both of his fists glowed blue as he began to repeatedly strike the krogan in the face. He kept at it, striking the krogan again and again until there was little left where the krogan's face had been.

He stood, victorious, as people booed and hissed at him. The krogan lay in front of him, probably dead.

"And the winner of the fight is Giant!" The old krogan announced, looking disgusted.

The big human pulled himself out of the pit and he started walking off towards a hallway. I started to follow, when I felt a hand close on my arm. I turned to see a batarian standing behind me, a leer in his face.

"Bet you'd fetch a good price." He muttered, looking me up and down. I was tired of getting this at every seedy location we went to. Quarians were most susceptible to kidnappings due to our rarity. We wouldn't be reported by bystanders, who hated us. Add to that the fact that the Flotilla couldn't exactly send a missing persons report and we became easy, punishment-free targets. I started to reach for my pistol, until the batarian found one jammed in his side, courtesy of Barin.

"Let her go, scum." Barin growled. The batarian looked at his fellow batarian in shock, but still released me. He backed away a little bit, clearly not sure what to make of Barin. Barin merely turned his back on the other batarian and started walking.

"I can handle a thug or two." I told him as we followed the rest of the team into the hallway the Giant had disappeared down. "I'm not the Admiral of the Migrant Fleet Marines for nothing."

"I understand that." Barin agreed as we separated from the crowd, "I don't feel like having to shoot my way out of here, quarian."

I gave him the point as we followed the team.

"Thank you." I said.

He just grunted as we found the rest of the team taking a right and filing into a room.

"Enjoy the show?" I heard a leering voice ask.

"I'm impressed." Roluck answered as Barin and I joined them. Giant was sitting on a bench, looking up at Roluck and what I could only describe as amusement. "I've only taken a krogan in hand to hand once and it wasn't that smooth."

"Well, I hear you all are having a recruiting drive and my number's come up." He said, grinning.

"You'll be reinstated." Roluck answered, "Private First Class. You'll receive a full paycheck, full benefits. You'll be expected to conform to Alliance standards, which is Lieutenants Gerrard's area of expertise."

"What the hell happened to your ear?" Giant asked, looking up at Henry.

"Geth blew it off." Henry answered.

"You've seen geth?" Giant asked.

"Yeah." He answered, "The Citadel, Tiptree, Eden Prime."

"Eden Prime?" Giant pondered. He looked at Henry with what I barely recognized as respect. It was good to see that I was starting to get a grasp of human reactions and expression. I imagined it was from the time spent with Henry.

"Yeah." Henry replied.

There was a long silence, then,

"Okay." Giant answered, "I'm in. Name's Eryc Flynt. I'm glad to see that you all seem to know what you're doing. Just one small problem."

"And what's that?" Roluck asked.

"I was supposed to lose that fight."

Henry groaned and I saw Barin bury his face in his palm, but nobody else seemed to know what that meant.

"I don't get it." Errahe said.

"It means that he's about to be hunted down by whoever had money on the other guy." Barin groaned.

"Especially since this is Omega." Henry responded, "it's going to be a gang."

"Well." Roluck said, "We came heavily armed, so it shouldn't be a problem. Lena! You're up front."

"A quarian?" Flynt wondered.

"An Admiral." Errahe corrected him. "Leader of the Marines."

"Is there anyone who's just some dumb private?" He wondered, surprsied.

I ignored him as I glanced out down the hall. A couple of batarians and a trio of vorcha had blocked the corridor, trying to look inconspicuous about it.

"Two krogan." I reported, "Three vorcha. Anyone got a grenade?"

Roluck flipped a grenade to me and I primed it.

"Barin." Roluck said, "You and me will follow the blast. Lena, we're ready."

I nodded and tossed the grenade out. There was a shout, then an explosion. Barin and Roluck brushed past me and out the doorway, firing to their left down the hall.

"Clear." Roluck reported. We all moved, headed for the pit. When we got there, we found an entire crowd of batarians and krogan there.

We moved automatically, our reflexes honed after so many battles. I brought my shotgun up and fired into the face of a batarian I'd recognized. It was the one who'd grabbed me earlier and attempted to make off with me. His head exploded into a fine mist as his body lifelessly dropped.

I swung around and fired into the knee of a nearby krogan. With a spray of orange blood, he went down. Errahe finished him with a stream of rounds from his Tempest.

I felt the wind knocked out of me as somebody slammed into me and sent me sprawling down into the pit. The shotgun had left my hands and remained up top as a big krogan jumped down into the pit with me. Gunfire surrounded us, but the fight wouldn't be over quickly. It was just him and me. I managed to stand up, feeling some ribs that were probably cracked.

I groped for my pistol and my fingers found purchase on the hilt. As he charged towards me, bellowing, I hopped to the side, a nimble move that I'd only ever seen us and the geth do. The krogan slammed into the wall and as he looked towards me, my pistol was already moving. I jammed the barrel right under the edge of the plate on his head. He yelled in alarm as I pulled the trigger, obliterating the plate.

As orange blood sprayed from the wound, he grabbed hold of the top of his head and screamed. He dropped to his knees, covering the wound. Krieg had once told me, on our first trip, that this was the best way to deal with a krogan.

"It's our only weakness." He had said with a chuckle, eyes gleaming, "So if any krogan out there try to give you the business, just shoot it off."

At the time, I'd found it odd that he'd given me advice on how to brutally terrorize his own species, but later realized it was because he trusted me.

Now, I was facing a krogan who was kneeling on both knees, eyes unfocused, covering his scalp with bloodied hands as he screamed. I looked up to see the rest of the team there, watching. Henry was nodding approvingly while Giant was smirking. Roluck tossed my shotgun down to me and I caught it.

I fired into the krogan's face and obliterated it. The krogan topped to the ground on his stomach.

"Way to make my fight look weak." Giant mumbled.

"C'mon." Roluck said, holding a hand down to me, "We gotta go. The rest of the way should be clear, I'm sure they weren't expecting him to get through all of these guys."

I let him pull me up out of the pit and we started back to the ship.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Peacemaker Crew:  
Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman  
Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer  
Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot  
Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)  
Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)  
Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)  
Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)  
Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	33. Chapter 33

I sighed as I looked at the reports from Tachunka. My marines were doing good there. The twenty-five thousand I'd sent. A rather shady looking request had come through back channels from the Alliance Fifth Fleet to the Citadel for supply lines to keep our people supplied. The request had come from one Admiral Hackett and it was a carefully worded message to Councilor Anderson. It looked like the Alliance had a few more believers than I thought.

Still, the quarians weren't the only ones on that world. The asari and salarians had sent their spies and saboteurs, to give them combat training beyond the small amount of training they usually got. Spies and Saboteurs were usually taught to infiltrate and assassinate, not go into a full combat situation against an army. They were holding their ground pretty well, apparently. The turians had sent over civilians from colony worlds, as well. They'd also sent over combat instructors.

It was an interesting mix of doctrines. I'd studied up on all of them during my time in training. The krogan believed in brutality and individual strength. The turians and humans believed in strong unit cohesion, but whereas the humans championed adaptability and flexibility, the turians leaned towards overpowering numbers.

A couple of smaller races had, surprisingly, lent their own people. The Drell and the Elcor had arrived to recieve combat training, much to everyone's surprise.

So far, this program had managed to produce over fifty thousand combat-trained militia. And that was in the two years I was gone. Apparently a human colony on Ereis had been attacked by the Blue Suns and they'd successfully fended them off with only minor casualties. Clearly, the program was effective.

We were docked with the Citadel, but I didn't have any business to attend to, there. Henry and the rest of the crew had already gone on ahead. Now I was just approving missions and reading reports, the downside of my Admiralty position. Well, that and the assassination attempts.

The bridge was quiet, though a couple of my people were relaxing in the chairs behind the bridge control. They weren't trained for the bridge controls, but those seats were really relaxing. I had simply seated myself on a console near the galaxy map. It was a good thing I was here, anyways. Technicians had been let aboard the ship and they were taking care of installing an AI. We were also having a Mako and Kodiak delivered to the shuttle bay, alongside requisitioned armors and weapons

The door opened ahead of us and I expected to see one of the crew members or one of Zeta Team step aboard. What I did not expect was a fully armored asari to walk in.

She was a deep shade of blue, standing lean and tall. The crests on her head were flattened to it and crystal colored eyes looked around curiously. There were little black markings on her face, but nothing too extravagant. She was taller than me, though not as tall as Henry. The graceful way she moved gave me the impression of somebody very familiar with combat. She was armored in a heavy dark blue armor, clearly meant for missions at night. Her weapons were all beaten and worn, but top of the line. Which meant she had very good equipment that saw constant use. Even her armor had a few scratches and scuff marks.

I was off of the console with my hand going towards my pistol immediately. Somebody had walked onto the ship who had no authorization to and while I wasn't going to fire, she needed to leave immediately. I brought the pistol up and charged it to get her attention.

"Halt!" I yelled.

My two crewmembers jumped out of their chairs, startled. They looked at me, then at her and scurried behind me. I didn't blame them, they could hardly be expected to fight this woman without any weapons. The asari woman didn't even flinch as she turned to me, looking more bemused than threatened. Even in a galaxy filled with hard criminals and mercenaries, somebody who didn't even react under the barrel of a gun was unusual.

Allison, who had been up front, jumped in surprise, but brought her shotgun up and pointed it at the asari. Ever since the geth attack over Tiptree, Allison had kept a shotgun in the cockpit. The asari eyed her, as well, a little bit of surprise on her features.

"A pilot ready to fight?" She wondered, her voice strong and amused, "Interesting."

"This ship is off-limits." I told her, projecting as much authority as I could. She didn't move, probably not wanting to provoke a response.

"As a Council Spectre," The asari answered, a slight smile on her face, "I have authorization to go where I wish."

I was a little taken aback. Meeting a Spectre was a rare occasion, to say the least. There were maybe twenty of them, across the galaxy. I didn't relinquish my hold on the pistol, but I took my finger off the trigger in a show of cooperation.

"I'll need to see identification." I told her.

"I'm going for a pocket in my armor." She informed me. I nodded and she reached into a pocket on the thigh of her armor. She pulled out a small badge and tossed it to the floor in front of Allison. Shotgun unwavering, Allison bent down and grabbed it while keeping one eye on the asari. Allison glanced down at it and lowered the shotgun.

"She's legit, boss." Allison told me. I holstered my weapon, a little embarrassed.

"Sorry about the rude welcome." I told the Spectre, "We've had to defend the ship before."

"So I've read." The asari replied with a nod. "I'm Enua Ira. As you already now, I'm a Council Spectre. I imagine, from your rather fast reflexes, that you'd be Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance?"

"Yes." I answered as Allison settled back into her chair. My crewmembers moved away and back to their seats, their body language painting them as still a little bit unnerved.

"From your speed," Enua told me, an appreciative look on her face, "It looks like Zeta Team chose their quarian member well. As did the Migrant Fleet Marines."

"Thank you." I answered, smiling. "I know you have clearance to go wherever you want, but why are you here, of all places?"

"Because I know what mission Zeta Team is on." She said, her face turning serious. "Hell, most of the Spectre's I've met are not only impressed with your team, but know exactly what they're doing at all times."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Zeta Team has become something of a wild card these days." Enua answered. "The Council isn't that good at investigating, but we are. We don't know what you're all fighting, but we know bullshit reports when we see them. Zeta's up to something and you don't want the Council to know what. Worse, we've seen the slowly growing web Zeta team has been building. Contacts, deals and secret alliances. One would almost think you're planning to attempt a coup."

I felt my breath catch in my throat. If there was any organization that would be able to take down Zeta Team, the Spectres would be it. Zeta Team was good, but each individual Spectre was his or her own private army. One of them could take us down and they wouldn't do it face to face. I didn't put my hand on my pistol, but I reached down and grabbed my PDA off the floor. I set it down near my hip and left my hand there, keeping the weapon nearby. There was a decent chance that Allison and I might be able to take this asari. But the entire Spectre organization? We wouldn't have a chance.

"I read the reports from Commander Shepard after the Citadel." The asari said, pacing around the bridge. "And the reports from Zeta Team. As much as Councilor Anderson and General Toulius stonewalled me, I was still able to slip around them and gather the reports of your mission on Rothia. I even managed to see the remains of Elura."

The Spectre's voice seemed to waver a little at that. Even as battle-hardened as she undoubtedly was, to see one of your own species taken over like that had to be horrifying. I saw a familiar look in her eyes. Though I wasn't great at reading expressions, every species had universal expressions that transcended race. The disturbed look in her eyes as she thought about Elura was one of them.

"Something is very wrong, here." She said, "I recognize it and so do the other Spectres. It's not an obvious feeling, but we've lived our lives investigating and drawing conclusions and forcing events down a certain path. It feels like the galaxy is waiting for something, though it doesn't realize it. Like we're headed for some sort of climax. It's not something I can specifically point at, but it's a feeling. Like I said, all the Spectres have noticed the signs of something coming, though we can't put a word to it."

"We can." I answered.

"The Reapers." Enua surmised. I folded my arms across my chest and seated myself back on the console.

"Not for me to say." I taunted. "You may be a Spectre, but I still partially adhere to a chain of command. If the commander of my commander wouldn't tell you, then I am going against my own chain telling you, as well."

I expected anger or defiance. Instead, she gave me a sly grin.

"Wise." She told me, "Which is why I offer a trade."

"A trade?" I asked, wondering exactly what she had to trade. "What kind of trade?"

"I want in on this team." she said. I was surprised and I guess it showed in my body language. "My job, which I take a little more seriously than most of our kind, is galactic security. If there is a chance that whatever you're doing is going to ensure galactic security, I want in on it."

"I can already tell you what Roluck is going to say." I informed her, "If you work directly for the Council, you can't work for us."

"Not if the Council thinks I'm taking a couple months of leave between Thessia and the Citadel." She answered with a smirk.

I thought about it and realized it could work. Having a Spectre on our team would be like having a walking tank on our team, given that she seemed to be the more combat-oriented type of Spectre. Plus, she had access to information that even the STTs didn't have access to.

"What's the trade?" I wondered.

"I got a human who, if the information I've examined is correct, seems to be suffering from indoctrination."

I nearly leaped off the console, surprised.

"How the hell did you get your hands on him?" Allison asked from the cockpit.

"I'm very resourceful, Corporal Shields." She answered. "And if you both could please stop reaching towards your weapons, it'd make me a lot less nervous. You don't want me to be nervous."

I felt embarrassment as I put my hand in my lap, at least giving her the benefit of the doubt.

"Anyways, he's dead, now, but I have information from him." She said, "Information I think the STT organization and Captain Anderson will find extremely interesting."

I pondered it for a while, then said:

"Any deal you make would be better made through Roluck or General Toulius." I told her, "I'm not even the XO."

"Very well." She agreed with a nod, "I'm also offering an 'employee' of mine. He's a volus and is very helpful in the domain of information processing. He's snagged details out of dozens of reports that I would've missed otherwise. He'd be especially helpful in something like this."

"Who is this?" Roluck asked from behind her, having just boarded the ship. I saw his hand on his pistol, as well.

"Enua Ira." She answered immediately, "Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. My identity has already been confirmed."

Roluck looked past her to Allison, who gave him a nod. He refocused his gaze on Enua.

"What do you want?" He asked.

She went through everything with him again, not missing any of the details she'd given me. When she finished, Roluck looked vaguely suspicious.

"Why didn't you ask this of General Toulius?" He wondered, "Since you were already there?"

_Good question._ I thought to myself. I was glad Roluck was here, because I was more a woman of action and wasn't too good on interrogations.

"I wasn't trying to join at first." She said, "I asked him before I got hold of this indoctrinated man. It was about a week ago. Back then, I thought it was some sort of coup attempt. Seeing how hard I got put down, though, made me extremely suspicious. So I started scrounging around for information, of which there was little, until you all returned from Rothla. That report put everything in a whole new perspective. So I did my research and managed to get my hands on this guy. Now I have information you'll want and all I'm asking is to join your team."

"What are your strengths?" Roluck wondered.

"Persuasion, close quarters hand-to-hand combat and sniping." She answered immediately. I held back a laugh. If we did take her, it seemed like Henry was going to get some competition. "Obviously, as a Spectre, I'm very good at them."

"And this volus?" He asked.

"He used to work for the Shadow Broker." She said, "But I gave the Broker some useful information for the volus' release. Now he works for me, doing pretty much the same thing."

"Then...you have a deal." He said, holding a hand out. It was clearly a gesture he'd learned from Henry. The asari looked down at the extended hand in surprise before shaking it herself. "Now, what did the human say?"

She typed away on her omni-tool and a voice echoed throughout the bridge.

"They'll be here soon, asari." A raspy, disconnected voice was saying. I saw Henry walk onto the bridge and freeze, a little surprised by the scene in front of him. Roluck looked back and spotted him, motioning him forward with a hand. "You'll be part of the slaughter before the end of this solar year."

"Sometime in the next eleven months." Roluck muttered quietly.

"There's more." Enua told them.

"Vanguard is already here." The voice seemed to whisper, "He'll be harvesting your colonies soon, a fitting distraction for the Reaper's arrival."

"I called it." Henry said aloud, not seeming to pleased that he'd been correct in assuming Vanguard's motives.

"That's all the useful information I could get out of him." Enua said, turning off the omni-tool. She turned to Roluck and eyed Henry before continuing. "The rest is just more taunting and arrogant threats. Lasted up to an hour. I'm pretty sure he didn't intend to give me information, it was just a slip-up."

"Christ." Henry groaned, pushing his fingers into his eyes. "Sometime in the next eleven months. I was hoping we'd have more time."

"Which makes it all the more important that we take Vanguard down as quickly as possible." Roluck answered.

"Wait." Enua asked, "You're going after this Reaper? That's what you've all been doing for the last month?"

"Yeah." Roluck answered. "And we're anticipating ground forces as well, which is why we're on a little recruiting drive, right now."

"Ground forces for these guys?" She wondered, "The geth?"

"The geth aren't involved, this time." Henry assured her. "The once that joined up with Sovereign were an off-shoot of the main consensus."

"Tell me." Roluck muttered, "You said you saw Elura's body?"

"Yes." She answered. Then she seemed to remember something, "Oh and by your request, she's being treated with respect. The tests have been very non-invasive."

"Good." He answered, "But she's an example of their ground forces. And she wasn't finished...mutating. Or whatever it was. Each species has a different flavor of the same horror."

"Damn." Enua muttered. "And let me guess. Vanguard wants to use these troops to wrestle colonies away. Then it starts a war and these Reapers ambush us while we're busy and wipe us all out?"

"Basically." Henry said, "That was my theory, anyways."

"And you must be the Executive Officer, Lieutenant Henry Gerrard." She said, "Am I correct?"

"That's me." He confirmed. She seemed to look him up and down and release a small smirk before turning back to the rest of the team. I felt the slightest twinge somewhere in my stomach, but ignored it. With a loud shuffle, the rest of the team arrived onto the bridge and introductions were made. Henry gave me a brief smile before turning his attention to the Spectre.

"So you're a sniper, huh?" Roluck asked.

"A pretty good one." She answered. Then she looked at Henry with a smug grin. "I'm going to be your...competition."

I felt that feeling again, but ignored it. I wasn't too worried, he knew where his loyalties lay.

But then, I worried about him sometimes. He had his doubts and I certainly had mine. Though I had managed to settle his worries, mine were still there. I wasn't exactly a good choice for a strong, steady relationship. It wasn't just the mission, but the fact I was a quarian. Sex wasn't a massive complication anymore, but there were things further down the road. I very well might not be able to have any children of his. I could easily die well before he did, with my immune system the way it was. I had to wonder if he ever realized it and thought about it too much.

Still, I let go of that. There were more important things, now. Like saving a galaxy.

"I'll go get my things." Enua told us all. "Should only take half an hour."

"Do we have another mission?" I asked as the crew started to file in.

"As soon as Enua and her informant get packed and get here, we'll leave." Roluck answered. "We also have an upgrade to our helmets pending."

"What for?" I wondered.

"General Toulius wants to record everything." Roluck answered, "For research. We're headed to Ilium next."

"Oh great." PFC Flynt grumbled, "I just got off that world."

"What for?" Errahe asked.

"New recruit." Roluck responded. "This one's gotten the job offer, but whoever we're after is going to be a little harder to find."

"Whoever?" I repeated, wondering how, exactly, we'd sent a job offer to someone we didn't know.

"You'll see." Roluck answered. "Soon as Enua and her volus get back, we'll get underway and start the briefing."

I sighed and settled back down on the console.

_Back to reading reports._

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Vengeance Crew:  
Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman  
Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer  
Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot  
Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)  
Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)  
Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)  
Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)  
Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	34. Chapter 34

I couldn't help but feel jittery as we pulled into port.

_Illium._ I though to myself, _Most the quarian that come here are legal slaves. It's exciting to see it on my own._

As much as I sometimes missed the Flotilla, visiting a place like this made it all worthwhile. We hadn't stepped foot on the planet yet, but I'd seen it from the cockpit while we landed. It was beautiful, with white buildings that towered to the sky and glittered in the sun. Traffic was everywhere, but in the distance I could see areas where the cities ended and turned into astoundingly gorgeous ocean side and forests.

I knew that some parts of Illium were rather famous for their incredible resorts. I'd always wanted to visit one, but I wasn't exactly rolling around in credits.

Zeta stood around the command center, waiting for Roluck to return. When the elevator opened, he walked out and looked around the room.

"Everyone to the briefing room." He ordered. We all gathered in there, seating ourselves before looking up at Roluck. I briefly fidgeted in the seat, crossing a leg over the other to get comfortable.

"This next possible recruit is going to be a lot harder than any of us have been." Roluck said, "We have no name, no location, only a cover name. 'Hunter'."

"Hunter, huh?" Flynt said, smirking. I noticed that Enua seemed to perk up at the mention of the name, as well.

"You two know him?" Roluck asked.

"Everybody on Ilium who works in opposition of the law does." Flynt replied with a shrug.

"Hunter is highly ethical and his work is highly illegal." Enua answered. "A couple of Spectres who've needed help on this world have contacted him. Since there were only good ethical ramifications with their work, they were able to contract him."

"So he's a mercenary or an assassin." Errahe concluded, saying exactly what I was thinking. I didn't see what was so special about this man that we absolutely needed his help. Assassins and mercenaries weren't all that uncommon in the galaxy. Why go after one that was hard to track down?

"Not exactly." Flynt countered, shaking his head. He looked around the table, to make sure he had everyone's attention, before continuing. "He...resolves...any kind of situation. My best guess is he's a highly skilled hacker with some sort of sniper training."

"Oh great." Henry interrupted with a groan, "Yet another sniper."

"Still." Flynt said, "Sometimes he doesn't just snipe someone. Occasionally, his business is much more subtle. Evidence will mysteriously be found by authorities in an unrelated investigation, for example. Whoever he is, Hunter is more than a simple sniper."

"Do the Spectres who hired him know what he looked like?" Roluck asked Enua.

"No." She answered, shaking her head. "There was no voice, no meetings. Only messages and untraceable extranet activity. The money was delivered to a randomly-chosen bank account, where it was then used to buy pretty much anything platinum."

"Laundering." Henry muttered, nodding. I looked at him in confusion, not at all following what he meant.

"Exactly." Flynt replied with an appreciative grin, "You know a little more than you let on, sir. The Platinum market is too dense to track any kind of selling."

"I don't get it." I told the table at large. I found that Errahe was similarly confused, which made me feel a little better about it. "Why would he just up and buy valuable items with the money he just got?"

"It's called laundering." Barin explained from the end of the table, looking at me, "Criminals use it to hide their wealth and make it untraceable. It's a process that has many different methods. This particular criminal will buy objects made with platinum, then undoubtedly melt them down and sell it ll on the platinum market. He probably loses a bit of the value, but he'd still make a killing. The platinum market is such a big market that it'd be impossible to create a pattern out of his sales."

"His dossier hints at that much." Roluck answered. "We've been informed that he's performed another job on the Eclipse here. He's been contacted and is willing to deal, provided he likes what he sees."

"So what's the plan?" Krieg asked.

"We're not all going on this one." Roluck told Krieg, "I want Flynt, because he knows his way around. I'll be there and so will Enua, since she's a little more of a familiar organization to Hunter. Also, Lena will be coming along, to provide a more diverse face to the group."

"Racist, much?" Henry joked. Roluck didn't realize he was joking, though.

"It's just a way to show Hunter that we're a lot more accepting than most groups." He answered defensively, hands up.

"I was joking, Roluck." Henry replied with a smile.

"You humans and your eyebrows." Roluck grumbled. "Anyways, two new members to the team you haven't met yet. We've got Gin Kalus, our volus intel analyst. He'll look at all the reports and help us find information that could be critical. He'll be on the second deck, near my office. I'd encourage you all to drop in and meet him. Second, our AI-"

A small figure appeared on a small terminal that had been installed at the head of the table. It was red and it took the form of a human female. Short hair had been tied up in a bun as the hologram looked at all of us in turn with red eyes. She was wearing an Alliance uniform.

"Anna." Roluck read, "Named after the creator's daughter."

"It is good to finally meet you all." The synthesized voice calmly echoed over the ship. "I am in charge of cyberwarfare and supply monitoring. I also run several electrical subsystems on the ship."

I felt a little uneasy and judging by the shifting in the room, I wasn't the only one. Artificial intelligences were very rare in Citadel Space and had to be kept under very strict constraints. My species had always had a long history of distrust towards artificial intelligences. Even as much as I went against quarian norms, I was still very unsettled by the AI.

"Life support systems?" Enua asked immediately.

"I have no control over those, save very specific programming only to repair them if absolutely necessary."

"Great." I muttered sarcastically.

"I understand your mistrust in artificial intelligences." Anna replied, "Especially Admiral Lena'Zuril. I hope to change your minds."

"We'll see." Barin said icily. "Anything else, Captain?"

"That's it, for now." He said, "We meet Hunter in an hour and a half at a warehouse deep in Nos Astra. Take a break, but be ready to go."

I decided to meet this volus and also decided I wanted to talk to Flynt. After a moment of thought, I decided to say a few words to Enua, as well. I wanted to know where she stood on Henry. I hated dealing with anything dramatic. I knew that Henry was the exact same way.

Then again, what competition was I, exactly, to a Spectre?

So as the team departed, I wound my way around the ship, passing various members of the crew. It still amazed me that I could pass a member of pretty much any species in this ship. It truly was an example of soldiers and common sense flourishing where politicians and prejudice went terribly wrong. I got into the elevator with a pair of turians, waiting to get down to second deck.

"She's truly amazing." One of the turians was saying.

"Can't believe you got a visit to the Consort." The other said. "Lucky bastard."

I had no idea what they were talking about, but didn't investigate further as the door opened. I stepped off and headed for the room next to Roluck's. I'd never been in there before, since it had been completely bare. However, as I stepped into the room, I noticed that a lot had changed.

The wall opposite of me had a desk set up with no less than nine monitors stacked in a grid. Lining the wall next to me was some sort of file system. I could see markers every half-meter or so labeled 'Reaper' or 'Geth' or 'Cerberus'. I took a quick glance and was not too happy to see one labeled 'Quarian'. On the wall to my right was what looked like an interactive map of the galaxy set up on a screen. I saw tiny markers working across it, mostly identifying fleets. I was no surprised to see one marked 'Flotilla' sitting in the upper left of the map near the Valhallan Threshold.

Seated at the desk was a volus. He was a squat little man, with a brown and white exosuit on. Unlike quarians, who wore the suits to prevent allergic reactions to every stray bit of bacteria, He wore his because volus were unable to survive in the kind of atmosphere that every other species did fine in. When I entered, he turned to me in his chair. Yellow 'eyes' and a small rebreather built into the suit were the only 'facial features' of the man.

"Ah." He said, his words interrupted by a hiss and a wheeze as his suit allowed air in and reconstructed it for his body. "The only exosuit-wearing member of Zeta Team. Pleased to meet you. My name is Gin Kalus."

"Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance." I responded, pleased by the manners which usually evaded his species.

"I know." He told me, "Reports about you have come across my desk numerous times. You and Tali'Zorah are responsible for half of the reports I receive concerning your species."

I didn't doubt it. With her kicking around with Commander Shepard and me commanding the quarian Marines around the galaxy, we were really the only quarians who had any sort of influence outside the Flotilla.

"So what do you do?" I asked.

"I'm responsible for analyzing all kinds of intelligence and reporting." He answered with a wheeze. Then he gestured to the galaxy map, "I also keep visual tabs on force movements and I'm funded by Enua herself, who has been rather gracious to me these last few years."

"She seems nicer than I expected of a Spectre." I admitted honestly, "Very sure of herself, but nice."

"You'd be sure of yourself too, if you'd seen everything she has." Gin responded, "I'd suggest you ask her about it, sometime."

"So if you track fleet and force movements..."I started, "You must've noticed that-"

"You sent a third of the quarian Marines to Tuchanka for training." He confirmed. "I also managed to receive a recording of the admirals. They're terrified of you and won't touch Admiral Koris because of it."

"Good." I answered. "Well, I just wanted to say hello to you and welcome you to the ship."

"Thank you for the greeting, Clanless." He replied as he spun around in the chair. I didn't take offense to the 'Clanless' designation. It wasn't an insult as much as an observation that we didn't have a home planet. "I hope to see you again."

I departed from the room and headed down to the Shuttle Bay. I'd learned from Henry that PFC Flynt had been very eager to hear his stories and help him with his projects. I stepped into the elevator alone and waited impatiently until it got to the bottom of the ship. When the doors opened, I found Henry and Flynt at the weapons bench. Henry was showing Flynt how to do something. Behind them, Lia'Vael was tinkering with something under the Kodiak. She looked up from me and gave me a wave that I quickly returned. Henry looked up and shot a smile at me as I wandered over.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Well," Henry said, "I'm teaching Flynt here how to make customized thermal clips. I'm thinking that in the near future, we might need incendiary rounds and armor piercing rounds. So we're going to undertake a project soon to start producing them not only for Zeta, but the whole crew. That's a future project, though. Right now, I'm just working on the Locusts for Errahe."

Across from an open thermal clip were a pair of tiny SMGs. They looked like they were supposed to be wielded with two hands, due to a grip in the back and up front.

"What's so special about these?" I asked.

"Very accurate." He said immediately. "Very low recoil, faster firing rate than most SMGs and takes forever to overheat. With two of these, Errahe can do some serious damage."

"Well," I said, done with the weapons talk, "What's your story, Eryc?"

The big man gave me a surprised look, but quickly smirked.

"An almost tragic one." He answered with a grin that betrayed his words. "I'm an orphan, as it were. Got picked up by batarians at the age of six."

"Wow..." I muttered. I knew what that meant. He'd been a slave.

"Yeah." He answered. "I don't like to talk about those days much. Anyways, age of seventeen, I was on a ship with the batarian who owned me and the Alliance raided it. Bastard got away, but the Alliance rescued me. They saw my biotics and decided I'd be best at Grissom Academy."

"But you didn't do so well?" I asked.

"No." He replied with another grin. I got the distinct feeling that I was being lied to, though I didn't know about what. Clearly, he didn't do well or he wouldn't have been beating krogans to death in a hole on Omega. "I didn't pay much attention."

"Well..." I said, distracted as I saw Enua leave the elevator and disappear into one of the backrooms, "We'll talk again later."

"Talk about what?" He wondered.

"Bah," Henry answered with a mischievous grin, "Women always need to talk about something."

"Hey." I warned, shaken out of my trance. I smiled and backhanded him across the shoulder.

"Abuse!" He yelled, attracting the gaze of a few quarians and turians who were going abotu their business on the deck. "Woman's abusing me!"

I heard soft laughter from the crew as they carried on. Henry gave me a wink before looking back down at the SMGs.

"Lucky man." I heard Flynt mutter as he turned back to the thermal clip.

I walked through the corridors of the back end of the shuttle bay. There was nobody back here and while I would usually be suspicious of somebody working back here, Spectres tended to lead the solitary life.

Her room was filled with small furniture and what had to be trophies. Across from her bed on a stand was some sort of egg. Next to it sat a small flower in the same kind of portable habitat I had my rose in. Behind both of them was a ring. Towering over all of them was what looked like some sort of mandible. In my curiosity, I forgot Enua was in the room. I walked over to the green mandible, trying to figure out what it was.

"Thresher Maw." Enua said from behind me. I almost jumped, but composed myself.

"I wanted to see how you were settling in." I lied.

"Just fine." she said, a smirk on her face, "Though a little warning would've been nice. Knock on the door or something. People who invade my room without introduction tend to end up dead."

"I'll keep that in mind." I told her. The smirk became a genuine smile. "So Thresher Maw?"

"Yeah." She said, running a hand over the mandible. "Spent an hour killing the damn thing with nothing but my assault rifle and a trio of grenades. Spent most of that hour getting in position and moving, rather than firing. Still, few can say they brought down a Thresher Maw on foot."

"Listen," I started. I turned towards her and decided to, as Henry would say, lay all my cards out on the table. Yet another one of his expressions that I didn't quite understand. "It's about Henry."

The smile broadened and a small glint appeared in her eye.

"I'll tell you," She said, looking almost dangerous, "I'm usually not impressed with humans, but he is damn impressive. So is Roluck, while we're on the subject. You are, as well, though not quite in the same way."

"Meaning?" I asked.

"Meaning I don't want to see you out of your suit." She answered.

I nearly cursed to myself, having hoped this would be an easy conversation. But the woman was flirtatious and probably a lot more confident than I'd be in this kind of situation.

"I..."I started, then decided since it'd worked for me so far, to just be honest. "See, the thing is...Henry's with me."

The grin vanished and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?" She asked, emphasis on the word. "Oh, I see what this is. Fair enough, then. I didn't detect any interest coming my way, anyways. He's off the table."

"I appreciate it." I told her. She showed a small smile, one that seemed a lot more honest than her past smiles.

"It's not a problem." She answered, "I'm not in the habit of home-wrecking."

I didn't understand it, but just ignored the term, regardless.

"So a Thresher Maw on foot?" I asked, "Impressive. I had to kill a krogan on our last mission. Got him right up-"

"Under the plate." She replied with a nod. The smile grew vicious. "That's the way to do it. Gets them every time. Not sure I'd try it on Krieg, though. He seems like he'd be a bitch to kill."

"Size doesn't always matter." I answered with a shrug.

"He's got experience." She said, "Like you. You know, if the quarians ever end up on the Council, you might want to think about becoming a Spectre yours-can I help you?"

Her gaze was directed over my shoulder. I turned to find Errahe there, looking slightly bemused.

"Would like to speak to you, Lena." He said. "Urgent."

"I'll come back after the mission." I assured the woman, "We'll trade stories, then."

"Fair enough." Enua said, escorting both of us to the door and then closing it behind us.

"What do you need?" I asked Errahe. He started walking and I followed.

"Already asked Roluck." He answered, "Geth have captured my old team."

I stopped, surprised. What the hell were the geth doing with an STG team? I knew there were pockets of heretic geth still floating around the galaxy, so maybe that was it. I shook myself out of it and decided to let Errahe finish.

"You want my help?" I asked. It wasn't really a question.

"Yes." He answered, "Good, young salarians. Do not deserve incarceration at hands of geth."

"After this mission," I assured him, "I'll join you and Roluck."

"Thank you, Lena." He answered, his dark eyes shining with gratitude.

"But for now," I told him, checking the time on my omni-tool, "I need to get ready."

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Vengeance Crew:  
Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman  
Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer  
Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot  
Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)  
Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)  
Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)  
Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)  
Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	35. Chapter 35

I had to mightily resist the urge to look around at pretty much everything we passed. Illium was more beautiful that I'd thought it would be. The spires around us all seem to majestically reflect the sun off into the sky, creating a gleaming white and aesthetically pleasing view.

"Don't kid yourself." Eryc had told us all when we departed the ship, "This place looks pretty and tame, but it's no better than Omega. There's a reason I got to be such a good fighter here. No shortage of thugs."

That had put a bit of a damper on everybody's mood. Then again, we were here to recruit a killer, not look at the sights. Not that it stopped me from taking in the sights with every step.

Roluck led us through the exotic stores and floods of asari as we went deeper into Nos Astra. This place gave me the impression that it was all business. At each of these stores, I saw things being sold that I never knew could be sold. As we walked past a shop, I even noticed one of my people being escorted around by an asari.

"Admiral." The quarian greeted me as we passed, giving me a nod. It was strange that, even through our suits, everyone who'd ever been on the Flotilla could identify an Admiral on sight. I guess since there were only six of us, it wasn't that hard. Plus, I was pretty infamous as Admirals went, so I tended to draw some attention.

"Brother." I replied. He was probably on his Pilgrimage and had gotten caught up doing something stupid and was being sold into slavery for it. I didn't begrudge stupidity, but I certainly wasn't going to intervene on his behalf. He had to learn from his mistake.

I didn't mind the indentured servitude on Illium. When I'd first heard about it a year ago, I'd been livid, even going so far as to declare that I was willing to send the Marines to Nos Astra to free all the slaves. Then it had been explained to me. It was contracted that they were expected to be taken care of, they couldn't be held past their contract date and any abuse was severely punished by law enforcement. Another advantage was our people in legal slavery tended to learn very useful trades that translated over on the Flotilla.. For a quarian, there were far worse fates. I knew that firsthand, as I'd almost become a slave for the Eclipse when I first met Henry.

This young man was probably only going to see two or three years of indentured servitude. Not too bad a stop for a Pilgrimage. I knew a man who'd taken six years to complete his.

I watched Roluck carve through the crowd. We drew plenty of stares, the high-class business types of this city ruffled by a group of beat up soldiers. I noticed that Eryc, especially, was enjoying the attention. He'd been given a standard-issue set of Alliance armor from Henry. I was surprised that they'd even had it in his size. Enua looked completely self-assured as she walked with us, not even bothering to try and dodge people that nearly ran into her. She was arrogant, but she'd certainly earned the right to be.

I was probably the only one who wasn't being stared down, which was unusual for me. Though I did notice a few people eying the shotgun at my waist with a combination of suspicion and distaste. Those were two emotions I could easily pick up on, having been met with them so often.

We ended up in a small apartment building that looked just like every other apartment building in this city. Maybe that was the point. Whereas I could see Enua meeting us somewhere extravagant, this sniper prided himself on being very hard to find and far away from the action. Roluck strode up to the main desk, which was being manned by an asari.

"Mister Wolun." He introduced. The asari looked down at her screen, her eyes flicking up and down as she read through lists. Finally, she found his name. She rummaged around in the desk until she found a card, which she held out to him. "Here you go. Room 1408."

Roluck accepted the card and I followed him to the elevator with the rest of the team in tow. We waited quietly for the elevator to come down.

"Always with the elevators." I muttered. It seemed like no matter where we went, we'd find elevators. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up in an elevator on my next trip to Tuchunka.

The elevator opened and we all managed to squeeze in. I had no idea why a motel would have elevators this small, since people typically had luggage with them at a motel. Still, there was silence as the trip started.

Silence that was immediately broken when Flynt let out a small, uncomfortable cough.

"So you and the Lieutenant are..." He started, clearly talking about me.

"What's that delightful human expression?" Enua asked. I could hear the note of amusement in her voice. "Knocking boots?"

"Ha!" Flynt laughed, clearly glad to see me so uncomfortable. "What's wrong, Admiral? Willing to go up against an enraged krogan with a pistol but afraid for a heart to heart chat?"

I looked up at Roluck, who was looking down at me and clearly fighting a laugh.

"I hate elevators." I informed him.

"Sometimes I think they're a worse enemy than the Rea-oh, here we are."

We emerged into a hallway that, though clearly low rent for this area, beat any corridor on Omega or the Flotilla. Every once in a while, there was a picture or an advertisement for the new Blasto movie. I never understood the fascination with a hanar Spectre.

"I never got the idea of Blasto." I mentioned as we walked out of the elevator.

"He's a running joke of sorts with us Spectres." Enua answered. "Though honestly, if a hanar could pick up and aim a weapon like most sentient species, they'd be deadlier than any of us."

"How so?" Flynt wondered as we veered off to the right and headed down the passageway.

I watch Enua lift an eyebrow as she looked at Flynt.

"What's worse than a man with a gun?" She asked.

"A man with a rocket launcher, I suppose." Flynt answered back as we stopped in front of a door.

"Wrong." Enua corrected him as Roluck started trying to open the door. For some reason, he just couldn't quite get the timing of sliding the card and opening the door right. I choked back a laugh. "A man with ten guns."

The door opened and we were introduced to one of the low-end rooms of Nos Astra. It was about as big as the shuttle bay. As I took in all the furniture and decorations, I idly wondered to myself if I'd ever be able to afford any room in Nos Astra. I only got paid a little from the STT funds, which I was able to save since everything else was provided for.

In a chair across from the door, a human sat in a chair, a Mantis sniper rifle leaned up against it. He clutched a cigarette between two fingers. The blinds were drawn behind him, save for a small section, which was missing, for whatever reason. Which meant I could barely make out details in the darkness, besides the fact that he was big.

"You must be the Special Tasks Team." He said. His voice was deep, powerful. Something told me I wanted this man on our side.

"That's us." Roluck answered. "I'm Captain Vether, Blackwatch. That's Enua Ira of the Spectres, PFC Eryc Flynt of the Alliance Marines and Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance of the Quarian Marines."

"Quite the diverse group." He said, lifting the cigarette to his face. As the cherry glowed from his inhale, I could make out a couple more features. Dark eyes, dark hair and what looked like a couple of scars. "Then again, I suppose an STT would be."

"Are you ready to join us?" Roluck asked.

The man didn't answer at first, instead cocking his head to the side. Then he looked back up at us.

"Frequency 97.8." Was his only answer. In confusion, we all turned to that frequency in our headsets.

"I see you've met my associate, who we will simply call 'Tommy', for the moment." A deep and heavily modified voice said. It sounded nearly robotic, from the voice scrambling. "Good to see that this is on the up and up. I've read the contract, but it doesn't exactly tell me who we're going after. Only that there is a need for my skills and there is a lot of danger involved."

I was confused, but Roluck was apparently a couple steps ahead of me. He looked up at the gap in the blinds.

"Using your head, I see." The voice continued. "I apologize for the deception, but I have many enemies after me. There's a stipulation on the contract, which I will see fulfilled."

"What's that?" Roluck asked, shifting uncomfortably. It was times like these that I wished Henry was here. We could've posted him pretty much anywhere in the building and he would've found Hunter.

"My children." He answered. "Son and a daughter."

I was surprised. I looked around to see that sentiment reflected on everyone's face.

"We can't very well go flying into combat with your children on board." Roluck replied. I had to agree with him, there. The Vengeance was always in trouble and it made me uncomfortable enough that my own kind was there getting fired at. Add two children and I'd hijack the ship myself to keep them out of danger. So would Krieg, for that matter.

"I'm not requiring that." He answered, sounding a little anxious even over the modulation. "I have family on the Citadel that will take them in. I've seen signs of what's coming and want them off this world and somewhere safe."

"And what's coming?" Roluck asked, eying 'Tommy' as he stood up and left the room.

"I don't know." He said, "But I've seen signs of something very big and something very bad. A couple of my jobs have me picking up information here and there. Some of the military seems to be subtly readying itself for something, even if the politicians aren't."

I looked at Roluck in surprise.

"You're right." Roluck answered. I looked over to see Enua almost imperceptibly shifting to the side, to keep herself out of the sniper's field of view. "There is something coming. Something big and it threatens everybody in the galaxy."

"The asari can stop moving." Hunter snapped. Enua cursed under her breath and went still. "Will you help me move my children to the Citadel?"

"We will." Roluck assured him. "Are they in immediate danger?"

"They will be, soon." Hunter answered. "I just took down a couple Eclipse mercs an hour ago. Unfortunately, their contact, who I also killed at the meeting, was Cerberus. I just discovered that fifteen minutes ago. They were trying to broker a pretty important deal, so I don't doubt that there will be some backlash for that."

I grimaced. Even we'd think twice before becoming the focus of Cerberus. The extremist group was easily the most powerful of the non-government entities, its military strength rivaling that of several smaller species. Given enough time and space, they'd probably rival the Alliance.

"Have there been any signs of hostiles?" He asked.

"I've seen a couple patrols around." Hunter answered. "Feel free to move about, by the way. They haven't spotted me yet, but I wouldn't put it past Cerberus to know my identity."

"Where can we meet you?" Roluck asked. I looked down as all of our omni-tools began to glow.

"Get there ASAP." Hunter instructed us. I looked through my omni-tool messages to find a set of coordinates had been sent to it. I pulled up a small map of Nos Astra and plugged the coordinates in. The map didn't tell us exactly where to go, but it had an arrow.

"We got it?" Roluck asked me.

"Yeah." I told him, "Follow me."

One uncomfortable elevator ride later, we found ourselves outside the motel and walking down a street. We were trying to act casual about it, as per Roluck's orders, so that we didn't attract undue attention. If there were truly Cerberus agents out and about, we'd be spotted in an instant. So discretion was the better part of valor, right now.

We were within two hundred meters of the apartment building before there was a noise overhead. I looked up and was horrified to see a bulky gunship approaching the building. I could see the black and gold logo of Cerberus printed on the side.

"Oh no." I heard Roluck mutter behind me. "Damn it."

There was nothing I could do, though, as the gunship launched a missile directly through one of the windows. There was an explosion overhead and I heard screaming all around us as people scattered.

"What's going on?" Hunter asked, the modulated voice still carrying worry.

"They...they fired into an apartment." Roluck answered, his voice uncertain and unsteady.

"I told my children to wait in the lobby." Hunter answered, "They'll know to join you. Hurry.",

I followed Roluck as he waved us forward. I looked around to see several squads of heavily armed troopers in white and gold armor rushing from several different directions. This building was in a plaza, which was a strategically horrible area to fight a battle.

"Watch the civilians." I heard Roluck caution us.

I pulled the shotgun from behind me as we neared the building. The gunship had left, clearly having finished its part in the strike. The sky started turning a dusky color from the smoke of the few burning apartments.

"God dammit." Flynt muttered behind me.

The lobby of the building was mass hysteria. People were flooding out of it, trying to force their way through doors that could only fit two people shoulder-to shoulder. Flynt stepped in front of me and glowed blue. Clearly trying to be gentle, he pushed several people back from the doors, giving us room to slip in.

"I'm in position." Hunter said, "I have eyes on the complex. I'll be covering you."

I spotted two children huddled behind a bench, holding each other. One was a little blond human boy and the other was a girl with hair so blond it nearly looked white.

"Hey!" I yelled to them as loud as I could. Their eyes snapped up and found me. I held my arms out to them. "We're friends!"

They were definitely Hunter's children, as evidenced when they started dashing towards me.

"Flynt!" Roluck yelled, "Protect them. Lena, you cover our front. Enua, you and me will get our flanks. Hunter, make sure they don't swing around our backs."

"Got it." Hunter replied over our headsets. As Flynt shimmied around a pair of terrified asari towards the children, I headed towards the door. If I was going to be in front, I might as well check to see what was up front before I started moving the group.

I heard Roluck yelling commands to Allison over his communicator as I glanced out of the building. The Cerberus troops hadn't closed the net, yet. While I didn't think civilian casualties were a concern for them, I had no doubt that they didn't want to have to shoot through a crowd at us.

"What's the call, Roluck?" I asked.

"Wait until there's a break in the group." He directed. "There's an walkway right next to the complex to the right. We'll be headed down there. In case of no flanks, We'll keep guns forward. Get ready."

I heard everyone stacking up behind me by the door, waiting. I took a couple of breaths to slow my heart down as we waited. When there was a break in the people running out, I immediately took off. I worried about my own part in this assault. I heard the sound of a biotic field being put up, no doubt around Flynt and the children.

When I turned right out of the door, I came face to face with a Cerberus team of four troopers who were unintentionally blocking the walkway. As they stopped their advance in surprise, I wasted no time. I fired the Eviscerator directly into the gut of the lead trooper. It tore past his shields and armor, tearing his abdominal open and splashing thick blood all over my suit and my visor. He fell away with a scream and I heard the quick three-round burst of the Harrier joining in. The trooper to my left fell away, his head split open as I switched targets to the one behind my original target. I heard the boom of a Carnifex, undoubtedly Enua's, as the trooper to my right started to jerk. The trooper in front of me started to raise his rifle, but I aimed high and fired. With a loud boom, his head disappeared into a red mist and he fell to the ground lifelessly.

Without hesitation, I moved forward and turned right again onto the walkway as the crack of a sniper rifle alerted me that Hunter had joined in on the fun. I took a brief second to wipe my visor clear of blood with the back of my hand as we continued forward. I raised the Eviscerator in front of me as I saw shadows appear at the end of the walkway, alerting me of four Cerberus troopers waiting at the end. As cramped as this walkway was, I needed to cause some sort of confusion to keep them from just filling the area with rounds. So I halted the team just long enough to type on my omni-tool and send my drone ahead.

"What the hell?" A voice muttered at the end of the walkway, just before the drone exploded and shook the ground. There were screams as I swept forward, the team in tow. The Cerberus troopers were all dazed, with one of them on the ground in the back. I fired into the furthest one from me as I circled around them, leaving room for the rest of the team to follow me out and finish off the troopers.

We were in a storage facility, now. There were a lot of steel containers stacked around us and at the end, a clearing where the ships swung by. Perfect for a pickup. I turned to Roluck as he fired out at a trooper who peeked around the complex.

"We need a pickup here!" I yelled to him.

"They're already on the way!" He assured me. "We're holding our position."

I stepped behind one of the containers on the outskirts of the area. I had a shotgun, so I wasn't going to be much use further back.

"Enua!" Roluck yelled, "Get back there with the children and do some damage with that rifle. Flynt, keep up that barrier!"

Sure enough, Flynt sprinted past me, the children in front of him and a small blue bubble around them. He looked back and fired his SMG at an approaching team, forcing their heads down. Enua was right on his heels, her pistol joining in and forcing them to halt as we got into position. They crept forward again, covering the short distance between the end of the walkway and the shipping complex. They each had a Mattock rifle, alerting me to the fact that they were accurate as hell. I reloaded quietly and waited for the first one to show up. Sure enough, a Cerberus trooper walked right past me. I was about to fire, then held it as three of them came around the corner, so focused on getting to their target that they ignored me, a foot away.I hefted the shotgun and shot the first one in the back. He went limp, his spinal column severed and undoubtedly killing or paralyzing him.

The troopers swung around towards me, which was their undoing. With the barking of an assault rifle and the crack of two separate sniper rifles, the rest of the team went down. I started to get back into position when a pair of shots rang out. I felt sudden agony as a pair of rounds took down my shields and a third penetrated through my back. I cried out unintentionally, dropping to my knees and trying to cover the exit wound on my upper right chest. There was another crack and I heard a trooper go down nearby.

Suddenly, Roluck was right next to me, his assault rifle loud as he fired it one-handed at incoming troopers. One of them dropped, then another as Enua fired an accurate shot into his chest. Roluck hooked an arm under my armpit and I tensed my arm, making sure it didn't fall out of his grasp. He dragged me backwards painfully, but I saw a pair of troopers incoming from the left. I reached out and grabbed one of the grenades hanging from his waist. I primed it and threw it just as we disappeared around the corner.

There were screams as a spray of blood and shrapnel spouted from the gap we'd just made it through. I heard the sound of the Kodiak shuttle touching down. A turret suddenly joined in as I felt myself dragged up into the shade of the shuttle.

"Keelah!" I heard Lia'Vael exclaim from the driver's seat.

"She alright?!" I heard Henry yell as Roluck boarded the transport. The doors were slammed shut.

"Bullet wound, right chest." Roluck answered as the adrenaline began to wear off and I began to slip into darkness.

"Let's swing by and grab Hunter real quick and get our asses back to the ship." Krieg said just before I blacked out.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	36. Chapter 36

I woke up to the white ceiling of the medbay, with little commotion. There was a rush of blood in my head that seemed to drown out anything else in the room. But I was alive. My head was pounding and I could feel a dull pain in my chest. I was undoubtedly on painkillers and a few other suppressants, judging from the lack of allergy symptoms.

I managed to slowly back myself up against the wall behind the bed until I was in a near-seated position. I felt dizzy and more than a little light-headed. The lightheadedness, though, was pleasant. Definitely from painkillers.

There were four people here. Roluck was seated in a chair, quietly asleep as he waited for me to wake up. He had his head back and his mouth was open as he quietly snored. Next to my bed was Henry, who wasn't looking in my direction just yet. Lia'Vael was seated near the door. Doctor Aline, of course, was there, with her medical staff. They were all pouring over something on a datapad.

Seated in front of my bed was a very unfamiliar woman. She had long blond hair and a sleek, lithe form. She looked like she should be a dancer. A cute nose and a small mouth graced her features, as well as grey eyes the color of the metal behind her. Thin eyebrows were furrowed in what was clearly worry and she had a tiny frown on her rather angular face. I would say that while she wasn't a model of her species, she was something to look twice at.

She wasn't wearing armor, so I surmised that she was part of the crew, not Zeta. She looked like she could be in her early thirties.

"You're up." She said quietly, her voice rough and hollow.

"Admiral!" Lia'Vael exclaimed, rushing over.

"Lena!" Henry exclaimed, turning to me. He grabbed up my hand in his, much to the surprise of the woman at the end of my bed. "How're you feeling?"

"Better than I thought I would." I answered honestly. I'd expected much worse than this, due to the foreign material the bullet would've brought with it. I guess whatever Doctor Aline had me on was working like a charm.

Sure enough, the asari woman came over, smiling at me.

"That's because you weren't really affected by the germs." She answered.

"Wait..." Lia'Vael started, her confusion mirroring mine, "What?"

"Or rather, you were." Dr. Aline backpedaled, "But not to the extent that you should've been."

I felt almost as surprised as I had the day Henry and I finally realized we were mad for each other. My immune system, or lack thereof, was the one thing that made me so vulnerable. In fact, it was the one thing that made all quarians so vulnerable.

I'd been on operations with my Marines in the two years that we'd been split up. In small operations against smaller enemies, it was easy to fight. There were always supplies devoted to the op, easily accessible and ready to go. In a pitched battle, though, supply lines were cut or devoted to higher priority units. For most species, that would become an inconvenience. For quarians on the front lines, it'd be a death sentence.

"So..." I started, barely trusting my words, "My immune system is back?"

"Hardly." Doctor Aline informed me sadly. "It's very slowly adapting, rather, to outside pollutants."

"Oh." I said, disappointed.

"So suit punctures that are sealed in a timely manner won't end in death or severe illness. At most, you'll be seeing a fever for a day, then it'll go away."

"And if I took off my mask?" I whispered.

"In an un-purified environment?" She reasoned sadly, the look in her eyes indicating she understood the frustration that I felt, "I'd give you five minutes before you inhaled enough pollutants that you died."

"How did this happen?" Lia'Vael asked.

Dr. Aline glanced at Henry, who turned a furious shade of crimson. That was all the answer I needed. While my body had accepted and adapted to him, he still carried outside contamination. Which my body was adjusting to. As I'd told him before, most intimate occasions happened outside the suit, with nerve stimulators and all kinds of equipment that made the affair impersonal. What we'd been doing was exceedingly rare.

I noticed Lia'Vael look at Henry, her mind traveling to roughly the same exact place.

"I'd suggest you just keep on doing things the way you've been doing them every day." She said carefully, clearly trying to tiptoe around the implications. "In maybe a year's time, you can take your mask off for ten minutes a day."

"Ten minutes?" I asked, overjoyed.

"Calculations absolutely correct." One of the salarian doctors replied. "Immune system recovery would be compounded, you'd eventually be able to have the suit off within two years of that. Still get sick more than normal, but calculate five years before immune system as hardy as human's."

My eyes widened. This was...impossible.

The most frustrating moments of my life were generally because of this suit. Because I couldn't touch something, or someone. I remember how sick I'd gotten as a child when I'd cut my suit and finger on a thorn of the most beautiful rose I'd ever seen.

"Could I..."I started, then stopped. I looked up at Henry, who was smiling down at me. "How come nobody else has gotten this far?"

"I don't know as much about quarian society as you." Doctor Aline told me, "But I know how often your people expose themselves to contaminants. The answer is: rarely. You expose yourself to environmental toxins at least once every two or three days. As a response, your immune system has built itself up and is preparing to fight off contaminants, instead of have a massive allergic reaction every time something touches you."

"Also been toying with idea of installing small unit within suit to release tiny amounts of bacteria into the atmosphere ever hour." Another salarian answered, "Should see even more improvements within six months."

"Can that be done with any quarian?" Lia'Vael asked, her voice filled with hope.

"Regretfully, no." He answered, his wide eyes looking just the slightest bit downcast, "Only you have system strong enough to handle it."

"Could you send me all the data you have?" I asked Dr. Aline. "I'd like to send it back to the Flotilla."

"We'll get started on that in a second." Doctor Aline said, a warm smile on her face, "But for now, you're stuck in that bed for four days. The round hit mostly nothing but non-critical tissue, so you'll just be feeling sore and tight in that area until the treatment plan I have you on fixes it."

"Thank God." I heard the woman at the foot of my bed mutter. I had forgotten about her completely and looked down at her.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying not to be rude.

"Hunter." She replied simply. "My real name is Ilna Ulere. I wanted to be here when you woke up and thank you for taking a bullet to save my children."

I felt my eyebrows shoot up in surprise. She was this Hunter that we'd been seeking?

"I thought you were-"

"A man?" She asked kindly, a smile on her face. "I prefer everyone to assume that. It makes me that much more harder to identify."

"Are the children alright?" I asked.

"They are." she answered with a dazzling smile. "We're on our way to the Citadel to drop them off, now."

"Where's their father?" I inquired, not sure if she would share.

"Not around, anymore." Ilna answered, her tone not changing. "He left when he found out I was having twins."

"Where did you learn to shoot like that?" Henry asked.

"I'm not surprised you don't remember me." She answered, "We were your third class, after all. You were one of the marksmanship instructors."

I suppressed a giggle at the look on Henry's face.

"That's right, Staff Sergeant." She answered, a sly grin on her face. "I was one of the militia you trained. I found I was skilled with a sniper rifle and was transferred over into your class of ten. The father left soon after he found out I was pregnant and I put what skills I had to use. Plenty to clean up on Ilium and so few people willing to do it. And I needed the money."

"That's...one hell of a coincidence." I watched Henry force out, still surprised.

"You ran some pretty good classes." She admitted. "Taught me everything I know. Of course, now, I'm assuming all those classes are to prepare us for these Reapers you keep talking about?"

"It sounds crazy, I know." Henry admitted, "Just stick with us long enough and you'll see it."

"I better." She hedged sharply, her tone surprising me. Henry brushed it off, though, as she turned thoughtful. "The credits are good, though. More than enough to keep my kids going and send them through school. So even if this is a sham, I'm getting paid for it."

"Well," Henry said, "Our next op is going to be rescuing some STG guys that are associates of Errahe. You'll meet him soon. We'll be headed to an uncharted world where the geth are apparently holding them. STG gave him the intel and told him to take care of it."

"Geth?" she asked, surprised.

"More than likely part of the group Saren attacked with." Henry answered her, "But I'll get you up to speed la-"

"Lena!" Roluck exclaimed, having just woken up, "You're awake. Did you hear about your immune system?"

Everybody laughed, but I felt a little sorry for him as confusion and embarrassment crept onto his face. He was just trying to be helpful.

"I heard, Roluck." I assured him. "I'm definitely excited about it."

He flashed me that sly, turian smile before he looked down at his omni-tool. As Dr. Aline prepared something, Henry and Ilna joined him. I noticed that they all seemed pretty excite, before they looked over at me.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"You won't believe this." Roluck muttered. "There's a derelict Reaper that's been found, out on Thorne in the Hawking Eta system. Apparently, Commander Shepard found it, used it and managed to scrounge enough data on it to send to the Council."

"So they'll believe us?" Henry wondered.

"I doubt it." Roluck answered quietly, looking pensive. "But the data will show that the Reaper predates the geth. The geth were only built three or four hundred years ago. This Reaper has been there for millions of years."

"So they won't be able to dismiss it out of hand, like they did with Sovereign." Doctor Aline reasoned, surprising all of us.

"Yeah." Roluck said, "And if we can bring Vanguard in behind our ship, the Council will be forced to face the facts that not only are the Reapers not geth constructs, but they're still out there. Though they won't be as prepared as we'd like when the Reapers come, they haven't forgotten the damage Sovereign did to them. Improvements will be made and forces will be built."

"So we need to kill Vanguard." Ilna said aloud, apparently forgetting that she didn't believe in them yet. "What's the plan on that, anyways?"

"The Alliance has found one of the Reaper bases." Henry answered quietly. "I just got a message from my father an hour ago. The ship that found the construct matched the architecture to the one we found on Rothla. Not three moon bases put together, of course, but the overall design is the same. The ship that found it just kept on cruising, keeping cover and acting like it hadn't seen it."

"So?"

"There's a moonlet nearby." Roluck said, "The Alliance Fourth Fleet is building there quietly, trying to build engines powerful enough to propel the moonlet forward and into a Reaper."

"And we'll be the bait." I followed.

"Yes." He answered, "But for now, we follow our present course. Find ways to disrupt Reaper threats when they arise and otherwise, build our team up and prepare for the Reapers. Which brings me to another piece of data that Councilor Anderson managed to snag. But we'll talk about that after this mission."

"Data sent." One of the salarians interrupted, looking at me. I stared at him in confusion for a moment, before realizing he meant my medical data.

"Time for you to get some sleep." Dr. Aline ordered me, approaching with a syringe.

"Wait." I said, watching my omni-tool glow. "Let me just send this report, really fast."

"Okay." She answered, "But be quick about it."

I sent the data as a message to Admiral Daro'Xen and Admiral Koris. Just to ensure something was being done about it. I doubted Xen would ignore the significance of this, though. Even with her nonchalant attitude towards pretty much everything. I also added in a personal message, explaining the findings and the significance of them. After that was done and the message was sent, I turned to Doctor Aline.

"Okay." I told her, "Now I'm ready to be put under."

She smiled and slowly injected in in a port near my arm. I felt myself getting sleepy and squeezed Henry's hand just once. He smiled down at me widely as I drifted off.

I didn't dream, not anymore. I dreamed before the STT, but I'd seen so many nightmares since then that I had no more dreams.

"They'll be here, eventually." Henry said morosely, standing with me on a cliff on Rannoch, "Nobody's safe. Nobody will ever be safe."

I stayed silent, feeling my hand in his. We both heard scratching sounds and looked down to see the mutated Elura clawing her way up the cliffside, her crimson eyes unfocused and hungry as she stared up at us. I wanted to move. So desperately, I wanted to move. I wanted to help him, save his life.

But I couldn't.

Elura made it up and tackled Henry. She punched him in the stomach and continued to pound him, completely ignoring me. Henry was screaming as I frantically yelled his name, still unable to do anything.

I heard a terrible, soul-rending screech as I turned to see more of those things coming at us. Their black eyes were wide and their mouths were locked in a permanent display of agony and hate. I finally moved, reaching for my shotgun.

It wasn't there.

I looked on with horror as I heard what could only be described as the sound of thousands of trumpets on the horizon. I turned to the crystal blue oceans as Henry and Elura disappeared at my side. The sky turned black with smog as the Reaper appeared, so close in front of me. A giant red mechanical eye glared into me as the screaming monsters surrounded me. It fired...

"AH!" I yelled in fright as I woke up, jerking off of the bed and reaching for my shotgun. It had been stripped from me and I could see why, now. Whatever had been given to me must've been strong.

I wasn't alone in here, though. Six of the seven other beds were filled with salarians who had clearly been sleeping quietly as they were tended to. At my cry, they had all woken up, staring at me curiously. The medical staff was similarly shocked. Errahe was with them and he looked more bemused than anything.

"You alright, Lena?" Doctor Aline asked, that sweet smile on her face.

"Sorry." I told her, scooting up with my back against the wall again. "Bad dream."

"Have them, now and again." Errahe agreed, one eyebrow raised above the other. "Then I go to sleep."

I chuckled at the endearing joke and I noticed a few of the salarians smiling.

"Who are the guests?" I asked, feeling as though I already knew the answer.

"This is STG team Sigma." Errahe introduced, "My old unit. Also, salarian in dress clothes over there Dalatrass."

That was surprising. A Dalatrass was a major leader in salarian politics. As I understood, there were maybe a dozen of them spread across the entire universe. It would explain why she was caught. Obviously, the Reapers wanted to indoctrinate her. Then STG Sigma came along and got captured. The story was all there.

_Just another piece._ I thought to myself. _Having a Dalatrass in our pocket would be quite the piece._

STT Zeta had sat around several times and predicted the way the war would work. The asari and salarians weren't going to be as willing to get involved in the war. They relied more on espionage and covert operations that wouldn't do a thing against the Reapers. The turians, krogans and humans were the big warfaring races that would be 'rolling up their sleeves' (As Eryc had said) and getting into it. So we were hard pressed to find a way to either force or woo the asari and salarians into fighting.

"Nice to meet you all." I answered groggily. "How did the mission go?"

"Smooth." Errahe replied, nodding. "Experience with geth helped. They were holding team for use by Vanguard."

I shuddered at the thought of them being herded before a Reaper and being mutated into monstrosities.

"How did Hunter work out?" I asked.

"Very good." He told me, a smile on his face, "She, Henry and Enua stayed on a team. Managed to rack up twenty-three kills, total."

"They certainly were impressive." One of the salarians agreed. "Made us look like amateurs."

"We're heading for an asteroid field, now." Errahe told me. "There's a large mercenary base there. Very well hidden, used as massive dry dock facility."

"And we're going to take it and use it as our own dry docks?" I guessed.

"Correct." He answered, "Pirates have facilities, but not adequate resources to build large fleets. I was able to get Council to accept this mission. Hear that there will be Alliance forces joining us on the raid. Briefing in two hours."

"That's good." I answered. "How long was I out?"

"Seven hours." Doctor Aline answered. "You slept well. How're you feeling?"

"Chest is still sore." I told her honestly, "But the headache is almost non-existent."

"Good." She answered. I looked at all of the salarians. They looked beat up, worn and damaged. The same way STT Zeta always looked.

"Welcome to The Vengeance." I told them with a smirk.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	37. Chapter 37

To my immense pleasure, I was up and walking around without a throbbing headache and a severe fever. I felt the slightest chills, was dizzy and I was coughing every once in a while, but other than that I was fine. Bullet wounds like that would've kept the average quarian down with sickness a few weeks.

I had received a message back from Admiral Daro'Xen and Admiral Zaal'Koris. Xen was excited about the ramifications of the data, even though she subtly made it clear she was less than pleased that I had become even more valuable to our people. Now the Admiralty Board had no choice but to stay away from me, since I'd become something of a medical experiment.

Koris, on the other hand, was not so happy. He'd messaged me back and told me that he was glad something might be able to be done, but that the war with the geth was looming and he couldn't stop it. The Admirals were doing exactly what they should never be able to do. They were making quiet alliances within the Conclave, assuring that when it came to vote, there wouldn't be such division over the geth war.

I felt disgusted by the political maneuverings of my people. We were supposed to be better than they other species when it came to politics. Instead, we were the exact same as everyone else.

"-Nedelas asteroid field." Roluck was saying to the team at large, pointing out an asteroid field on the galaxy map projected in the middle of the table. "Typical asteroid fields are not very violent, with the asteroids having so much space from each other that it is nearly impossible to crash into them. These asteroids, though, seem to be..."

He was at a loss for words, but Errahe helped him out.

"Engineered, to a degree." He supplied. Roluck nodded to him thankfully, the turian looking grateful.

"Engineered would be a good word." He said. "The asteroids themselves are real, but they are being kept in very tight control of each other. The asteroids appear to be following a little bit of a pattern as they move, a pattern that ensures they don't end up colliding with each other."

"That's very advanced technology." Henry muttered, "Pirates don't have that kind of tech."

"It's been suggested by several researchers that the technology is Prothean." Roluck answered, drawing frustrated grumbling around the room. Ever since Eden Prime, it seemed as though anything Prothean just drew trouble to it. Roluck nodded in understanding, but didn't let up, "I know. We've all seen what happens with Prothean tech nearby. However, I believe that these asteroid fields were once kept as bases. There is one large asteroid in the center used as a dry docks for ships up to the size of a Carrier. About two hundred smaller asteroids around the main one are used as smaller dry docks to create fighters, interceptors and corvettes."

"So when we drive the pirates out," Krieg asked, "Won't the Council just take it over?"

That did seem to be exactly what would happen. I knew the Council would just go ahead and take over the docks. Nothing would be done with them.

"Of course they will." Roluck answered, grinning widely. "Councilor Anderson, who discovered and is the lead for this mission, will send engineers and resources there to begin creating another fleet. The ships will not be activated and it will be a very covert action, to avoid drawing attention from the Reapers when they arrive."

"Where does he plan to get the resources?" Barin argued.

"There are resources being sent from the Normandy-" Barin rumbled in anger at the mention of the ship, but otherwise kept silent. I knew why he was angry. Commander Shepard had destroyed an entire colony for reasons that were unknown at the moment. Alliance fuly intended to capture Commander Shepard, but I had the distinct impression, from what I'd seen on the Extranet, that they were dragging their heels. "and the Alliance has plenty of raw materials that aren't really going anywhere."

"It'll be a fresh fleet." Henry observed. "Not some half-repaired fleet from the battle of the Citadel."

"Exactly." Roluck replied, "Now, on to part two of this mission."

A hologram of a small human boy appeared on screen.

"This is the son of Hahne-Kedar's CEO, George Sanders." Roluck explained. He had a small smile on his face when he announced the next sentence. "The boy, Harold Sanders, has been captured by these same pirates we will soon be battling."

I didn't understand the implication, but I heard Henry let loose a low whistle and Flynt nodded with a smirk on his face. Everyone stared at them.

"Hahne-Kedar." Flynt explained, "Makers of human armor and lots of weapons. More importantly, the creators of FENRIS, LOKI and YMIR mechs."

I immediately realized why this had become a priority for Roluck, rather than trying to seek out more Reaper bases. This was another piece for him to play. If we could get entire armies of mechs on our side, that would be a huge bonus for us.

"You clever turian." Krieg rumbled, a smile adorning his face.

"Is anyone else worried about how much this looks like a coup?" Ilna pointed out. "I mean, the moment the Council realizes exactly how many assets STT Zeta has procured, they're going to get suspicious."

"I know you don't believe in the Reapers yet." Enua answered, "But they'll be here within the next solar year. The Councilor and General Toulius are stalling and stonewalling hard, because they have a deadline, now. And once the Reapers come, it won't really matter anymore, anyways."

Ilna merely huffed, tossing her blond hair back as she leaned back in her chair. I noticed that despite her thanks for saving her children, she came across as really arrogant. Not quite as much as Enua, but still enough to be annoying. The only person she didn't seem to approach like that was Henry, much to my own discomfort. Still, I ignored it as best as I could.

"From scouting ship reports," Roluck said, "The pirates are centralized in the main asteroid. The Alliance Fourth Fleet, led by the now Vice Admiral Gerrard, will be tasked with taking care of the ships, while we swoop in and deal with the pirates themselves."

"Fourth Fleet?" Henry asked, surprised.

"Yes." Roluck answered, "Your father will be there. Sorry, wasn't my call."

"I understand." Henry said quietly.

I knew his reservations. He didn't want his father at the same battle he was at. Even in quarian culture, there was something almost taboo about it.

"We'll be dropping out of our jump in about ten minutes." Roluck told us. "Lena, sorry, but you're out on this one."

"Understood." I'd expected as much, so the news didn't particularly surprise me. I still couldn't move my arm around very well without antagonizing the tissue there. I had refused treatment after a while, to leave more assistance towards the more needy salarians. Doctor Aline wasn't very happy about it, but she'd relented nonetheless.

"We'll split up into three balanced teams." Roluck told us. "The first team will consist of me, Krieg and Ilna. The second team will consist of Henry, Errahe and Barin. The third will be Enua and Flynt. Since both members of third team are a little more flexible than the rest of us, it should even out. We have no readings on the base and no scans, so we'll be dropping in and figuring a plan out from there. Everyone got it?"

Everyone made sounds of confirmation, though Barin didn't look entirely too happy with being posted under a human. Still, he was a soldier and he understood his duties, so he nodded with a displeased look and followed Errahe out the door.

I decided to head up to the cockpit with Roluck. I wanted to see this fight myself, though I knew Henry wouldn't be up there. He got anxious around dogfights and shuttle rides, mostly because of the incident that almost killed him on the Citadel two years ago. I didn't look down on him for it, as it would only be cowardice if he refused to get on a shuttle or ship and do his duty.

I squeezed past a pair of asari comparing reports on the bridge and entered the cockpit, where Allison and her three co-pilots awaited.

"Up here to see the sights, Admiral?" She asked. I groaned in exasperation.

"You know you love it." Allison teased, right before Roluck walked up behind her.

"How're you, Roluck?" She inquired, green eyes bright.

"Tired." He told her. "I'm planning on getting some sleep after this op, it's been a couple days."

"Make sure you do, boss." Allison warned, her tone nearly scolding.

_They sound like a couple._I thought to myself. I was about to share that thought with the cockpit, before I stopped myself.

_In fact_ the thought popped up, _they sound exactly like a couple._

I thought back to the argument they'd had after Rothla. Or rather, the explosion of anger and malcontent at Roluck after the mission on Rothla.

_She likes him._ I suddenly realized. _And he doesn't even know it._

Indeed, with that thought now in my head, it was hard to tell how I didn't notice it before. Then again, I was stupid with all things romantic, as both Henry and I knew all too well.

Roluck, for his part, just nodded grimly as the blue field started to evaporate from around the ship. We all watched in anticipation as the asteroid field suddenly loomed ahead of us.

The field was massive and I could see exactly how an asteroid base could be so well hidden. I would estimate more than sixty-thousand asteroids out here, a lot of them surprisingly close together. I remember watching vids as a child and seeing great adventures of my people as they swooped through asteroid fields with impossible precision and timing. As I actually ventured into asteroid fields later on, I realized that those vids were far from real. Asteroid fields typically included only tens of thousands of asteroids, all of them spaced miles upon miles from each other. It would be more of a feat to accidentally hit one than to avoid all of them, honestly.

This field, not so much. Once again, it had clearly been tampered with by the protheans. I watched as dozens of large ships suddenly jumped in from the left of our position in front of the asteroid field. The Alliance Fourth Fleet. The ships were all sleek, silver and smooth. Their design was rudimentary, but efficient, with a long cylindrical portion up front and 'wings' that extended all the way from the back and up past the front of the ship. Cannons were mounted under the nose of the ships and two engines were placed in the back. They were uniform in design, from the dreadnought up front to the fighters. Everything bigger than a frigate was standing by, slowly spreading out. Carriers began to release fighters as the frigates drifted into the field almost lazily.

"Alliance Fourth Fleet is beginning its approach." A familiar male voice reported. Henry's father, who was a stern, yet kind man. I had only met few others like him. "Copy, Vengeance."

Roluck leaned over Allison and pressed a button on the controls.

"We copy." Roluck answered, "Starting our approach."

"Good to hear from you, Captain Vether." Vice Admiral Gerrard said fondly as we began to glide towards the field, "How's that son of mine?"

A pause from Roluck, then the turian leaned into the controls again.

"A pain in the ass as always, sir."

There was laughter on the other end of the communicator as we slipped between three asteroids.

"Good to hear a turian that can crack a joke or two." He answered. "We'll start the assault, you sneak in and drop."

"We're on it, sir." Roluck answered. Everyone was waiting in the command center, waiting for clearance on the airlock. Roluck turned to them. "Ten to one they're going to try and space us when we hit the docks, so helmets on and be prepared, people!"

We carefully picked our way around the asteroids as we headed for one of the biggest ones that I could see. I saw fighters taking on frigates and other fighters as we approached.

"A dogfight." Allison grinned. She turned on the intercom system.

"Everybody hold on!" She yelled over the speakers. She jerked the controls up and I had to grab on to a chair to keep my feet as she did a flip and came down aimed directly at an enemy fighter. She blew it apart with the cannons, the blue lasers tearing through its barriers and armor in a split second. Allison laughed gleefully as she evened out and turned, chasing a fighter that was on the tail of an Alliance frigate. She fired on it and scored a direct hit as we raced through the remnants of the fighter. She banked hard to the right and I stumbled again, but we found ourselves staring down the docks of the main asteroid.

"Alright." Roluck said, "Everyone get ready."

Allison swooped in and ignored the small arms fire completely as the airlock burst open and eight members of a pissed of Special Tasks Team jumped down. It was strange to watch from this angle as the eight soldiers and specialists completely flattened all resistance in the hangar.

There was suddenly a pressurized wave that rocked the ship backwards. The eight team members had to grab onto rails and the floor to avoid being swept out of the bay.

"Yeah." Roluck confirmed as I watched the team slowly make their way to the doors. "Environmental fields down. They tried to space us. Assholes."

I laughed as they entered the doors.

"Alright." Allison said, slowly reversing the ship out of the docking bay. There was a shudder as someone shot at us, but Allison didn't seem too concerned.

When we joined the fight, it looked as though the battle had been fierce. Dozens of ships from each side had been turned into scrap heaps and I could even see some pilots and crewmembers who had been spaced, trying to get to the asteroid. I felt my stomach churning at the sight of them.

I made a decision and raced down to the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Allison asked over the speakers.

"I'm not going to leave those men out there to die." I informed her. There was a pause, then.

"Attention all crewmembers." She said, "Admiral Lena'Zuril is going to make a rescue attempt with the Kodiak."

"Don't you dare try and stop me." I warned as I stepped into the elevator.

"Three more crewmembers will be needed." Allison replied. "Volunteers please report to the Shuttle Bay immediately."

I instantly felt a rush of gratitude for the pilot.

"Thank you, Allison." I whispered.

I got down to the shuttle bay and started grabbing my weapons. I doubted that we'd need them, bu it always payed to be prepared. I turned around to the sound of the elevator a minute later.

Lia'Vael was there. With her was, to my surprise, Doctor Aline. Even more surprising was when she stepped out and was followed by none other than the Dalatrass herself.

"You're a noncombatant, ma'am." I instantly argued.

"And you're an Admiral of the Migrant Fleet Marines." She pointed out, raising an eyebrow. Doctor Aline reached into a storage locker. The asari pulled out a helmet for herself and a mask for Dalatrass Eira. "I have medical training and those men out there will need it. Who would I be to stand aside?"

I immediately found myself liking this woman. I hoped, as we all headed for the Kodiak, that we would have the chance to deal with her later on after we dropped her and the STG off on the Citadel. I was aware that she wasn't the Dalatrass of the entire Salarian race, but I was sure that she was somewhere up there, if she was considered worth the effort to try and indoctrinate.

We boarded the Kodiak and Lia'Vael took the controls as I sat in the passenger's seat, opening the door so I could pull people in.

"We're ready, Allison!" I yelled. "We'll probably be making trips, so keep it open!"

We left the hatch open, deciding that it'd be preferable to not have to open and close it constantly. There wasn't a whole lot of room in here, but we might be able to take a dozen at a time.

"We're going to be in the thick of it!" I looked back and yelled as the shuttle bay door started to open. "That's where the pilots and crew are at the most risk!"

Lia'Vael accelerated out of the shuttle bay and we were immediately thrust into the battle. A fighter zipped past us, attempting to shoot us down before an Alliance fighter got him.

"I'll keep you covered." Allison assured us. Suddenly, the Vengeance was swooping around as Allison did her best to keep the area around us clear. Lia'Vael approached the first spaced man, who was struggling mightily in the void in panic. We swung up beside him and I reached out, snagging the man and pulling him inside. He thanked me quickly and moved to the side, needing no medical attention.

The rest of the battle continued in this fashion, with us sweeping by soldiers, pilots and crew members who were still moving and pulling them in. We moved back and forth between saving them and offloading them onto the Vengeance. The rest of the medical team had relocated to the Shuttle Bay, so that they could continually provide medical support for the more heavily wounded.

After an hour, the battle was over and we found ourselves boarding the Vengeance for the last time. We'd made six trips and rescued at least ten people per trip. Numbers that I could be proud of.

"The Alliance can get the rest." I spoke over the comms system, looking back at the ten Alliance crew in our shuttle.

When we landed, I gingerly stepped through the blood soaked cabin and dropped down onto the deck of the shuttle bay. There was an Alliance Navy Lieutenant standing amongst the men, helping with the wounded and keeping track. He looked up as we approached.

"Thank you for your recovery of me and my fellow troops." He said, looking at all of us and holding out a hand. We all shook his hand and I decided to ask the big question.

"How many did we save?"

"We've got sixty-three." He replied, "Forty-two wounded. Seventeen of them would've died of their injuries had you not rescued them."

"You kicked ass, Admiral." Allison agreed over the intercom.

"Admiral?" The man asked, his eyes widening as he looked at me. "I'm s-sorry, ma'am."

"At ease, Lieutenant." I chuckled.

"I'm glad to find your men stable." Dalatrass Eira told him. "It's good to see the Alliance still fights as bravely as they did two years ago."

"Thank you, ma'am." He answered.

"I still think you shouldn't have been out there, Dalatrass." Doctor Aline hedged, looking a little anxious.

"Dalatrass." The Lieutenant answered, dumbfounded. "An Admiral and a Dalatrass."

He looked at Doctor Aline.

"I suppose you're a Matriarch?"

"Just a simple doctor, Lieutenant." She answered with a smile.

The elevator door opened and Henry rushed out, a little surprised by the packed shuttle bay, but picking his way over men nonetheless to reach my side.

I expected anger from him, anger for risking my life unnecessarily. That might've been his original plan, for all I knew. As he looked around, though, he grabbed my hand in his. I felt a little bit of a chill rush through me. I noticed the Lieutenant's eyes widen and a few Alliance personnel glance at us.

"I'm always so damn proud of you." Was all Henry said.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	38. Chapter 38

I was ecstatic that we were getting a day to rest back at the Citadel. The team had run three operations in a row in three solar days. I'd been on two of them. I needed some rest that didn't come from a syringe knocking me out. A small part of the Fourth Fleet had accompanied us, since the entire fleet didn't need to be there to set up operations. The wounded had been loaded onto the three cruisers that were with us. All the cruisers had been directed elsewhere, with only a couple of shuttles following us from the cruisers. We had the little boy in tow, after being informed that his father was here waiting on him.

It was a surprise, though, when Vice Admiral Gerrard stepped off of a cruiser called the Mogadishu. It was an even greater surprise when we found Councilor Anderson standing near the elevators. There was a third man with him, as well.

This man was also wearing an Alliance Navy uniform, just like Henry's father. He wasn't as big, though he was still tall. He stood with hands behind his back and he directed a withering blue gaze across the bay. Grey hair and a grey goatee accompanied a scar that ran across his right cheek and mouth. Despite his age, the man stood tall, proud and gave the impression of a man that one didn't ever mess with. When he spotted us, though, the corner of his mouth lifted in the slightest.

"Admiral Hackett." Henry muttered. I had no idea who he was, but if Henry could pick him out of a group, he had to be somebody of importance.

I didn't know what they wanted, until they stopped all of us at the entrance to the elevator.

"Dalatrass Eira, Admiral Lena'Zuril, Lia'Vael?" Councilor Anderson asked. I noticed cameras nearby again. As Henry's father swept around me and joined the two ahead of our group, I realized what this was. We were being rewarded.

_But for what? What have we done?_

"Yes?" I asked, trying not to look at the intimidating man that Henry had looked up to all his life. I was an Admiral, who had stood my ground against other Admirals at the Migrant Fleet, but Vice Admiral Gerrard always made me uncomfortably nervous.

"What do you need, Councilor?" Dalatrass Eira asked.

"If you don't mind," Councilor Anderson said, "I'd like to give you three something for your actions during the battle in the Nedelas asteroid field. Two of you were injured but abandoned the safety of the ship and risked your lives to save sixty-three Alliance Personnel in a Kodiak shuttle during a vicious engagement between pirate forces and the Alliance Fourth Fleet. Miss Vael, you took the mission voluntarily, despite your relative lack of experience in battle. The Alliance would like to award the three of you the Terra Star of Valor."

Councilor Anderson handed the medals to Vice Admiral Gerrard, who walked up to Dalatrass Eira first. I realized that this was entirely political, a good show, but I had no doubts that Henry's father was still grateful.

"Thank you." She replied, clutching the medal. "I realize this is merely symbolic, but I appreciate the gesture nonetheless."

Henry's father nodded and moved on to Lia'Vael. She looked completely astounded and had no idea what to do. Admiral Gerrard gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand up before putting the medal in her hand.

"Th-Thank you, Admiral." She replied, sounding on the verge of tears. Admiral Gerrard gave her a smile and a nod before moving on.

When he stepped in front of me, his smile widened a bit and he held his hand out, palm up. I looked down to find a small silver star mounted on a blue ribbon that looked like it was supposed to be pinned somewhere. I grabbed it off of his hand.

"Thank you, Vice Admiral." I replied. He gave me a small nod before moving to stand beside the other two humans again.

"STT Zeta is being given thirty-two hours of liberty, starting right now." Councilor Anderson told us. I heard a muffled cheer from Flynt, but everyone was otherwise silent. "Your next mission is being prepped. Keep up the good work, you're doing us proud."

"George?" Vice Admiral Gerrard called out. The little boy, who still looked pretty shell-shocked from his time in captivity with the pirates, looked up at the man. "Your father's waiting, follow us."

The boy came flying out from behind Krieg and headed towards the elevator. The rest of the humans stepped in, undoubtedly having places to be.

"Thank God." Flynt said from behind me, "I've got some drinkin' to do tonight!"

"Go easy, kid." Enua muttered, a smirk on her face.

"Kid?" He wondered, "I'm nineteen."

"I'm four hundred and sixty." Enua answered immediately. That took the...what had the humans called it?

"That took the wind out of his sails." I ventured uncertainly. For his part, Henry looked amused that I'd found the term.

"Alright." Roluck said as we gathered around, "Quick moment before we leave. The Vengeance will stay docked here. So if you need a place to pass out or...I don't know...decontaminate, the guards will know your faces. Stay out of trouble, alright?"

"You got it." Ilna answered. I had no doubt that she was going to visit her children. A hand found mine and Henry was quietly pulling me away from the group.

"We've got somewhere to be." Henry told me, completely serious as he dragged me to the elevator.

I felt concerned. I'd rarely seen him this serious before and it'd always been bad.

"Where?" I wondered as the elevator door closed. I felt just the slightest knot of anxiety twisting in my chest.

"Blasto: the Jellyfish Stings." He answered, his face still deadly serious. I stared at him for a moment and the facade crumbled when a corner of his mouth twitched in just the slightest.

"You bosh'tet!" I yelled, pushing him up against the wall, "I thought you were being serious!"

"That was the point." He told me, "It's no fun, otherwi-Ow!"

He rubbed his shoulder where I'd punched it. I doubt it actually hurt, but it was nice that he put on a show for me. The punch had cost me as I hunched a bit to stop the pain from my recent bullet wound.

"You feeling better?" Henry asked, his voice serious.

"Yes." I told him with a smile, "I am. It'll just take a few days before the pain goes away. Amazing what medicine can do these days."

The door opened to the C-sec offices. We walked through the corridor, cleared security and that's when Herny noticed someone seated at a desk nearby.

"Holy shit." he muttered, "Lieutenant Bailey got promoted."

I looked over to find the thick, mean brown-haired human seated at a desk, typing away furiously at his terminal. I remembered him as one of the three people that had shown up out of nowhere to help Henry when he nearly died on the Citadel two years ago. I never thanked the man. He looked like he was in the middle of something important, though, so I decided that thanks could wait later. Apparently, Henry had the same thought because we passed him by.

"Lieutenant." I heard a scratchy human voice growl. We both turned and I was surprised to find that the voice came from Admiral Hackett. "A word with you, son, if you don't mind."

Henry looked at me for a moment, clearly indecisive.

"I'll be right back." Henry assured me, before walking off to talk to the Admiral. They spoke in low tones and hushed voices. I noticed that neither one of them were standing at any sort of attention or rest, meaning this conversation was probably off the record.

I watched Enua walk by with Flynt, both of them grinning.

"-see if I can get that krogan to sing." He muttered as they walked by. Enua gave me a nod as she passed, which I returned.

I sighed as Henry continued talking and the rest of the team started to filter out. Barin had found a couple batarian buddies and they were off to have a drink. Errahe was headed to the hospital to meet his fellow STG operatives. Ilna was headed for her children. Krieg was apparently going to a communications device to see and talk to his daughter on Tuchunka.

Then Roluck walked out of the elevator and that's when I realized, for the first time, how lost he seemed when he wasn't yelling orders. He seemed to heave a small sigh as he hung a right at the entrance and began to walk slowly, not even noticing me.

He doesn't have anyone to come home to. I thought sadly. I remember him mentioning a brother once, just before Rothla. I doubt he kept in contact with the guy, though. Turians weren't exactly and over-emotional bunch. It didn't mean that Roluck didn't have emotions himself, though. He'd lost Krylin, who he'd clearly cared about before her original 'death'. There was nobody to fill that void. I kind of wished, for his sake, that Elura had been a ruthless, smug monster when we found her on Rothla. He might've been able to find some peace. But I knew it was eating away at him, something he would never admit.

"Hey." I called out. Roluck immediately knew who it was, I was sure. Quarian were relatively rare in the galaxy and having one call to you was even more rare. He looked over and gave me a weary turian smile.

"What do you need?" He asked.

"I'm just wondering where you're headed off to." I told him.

"Oh," He said, looking the slightest bit flustered, "I'm not much of a 'hanging around with friends' guy. Probably just going to get a drink at Chora's Den in the Wards. You?"

"We're going to see Blasto." I confided. "It'll be stupid, I'm sure, but it's something to do besides sleep and kill. You should come with us."

"I'm not going to impose." Roluck assured me. "But thanks."

Without another word, he turned around and kept walking. I looked after him for a moment, until I was interrupted by Henry.

"Ready to go?" He asked. I looked past him to see the Admiral's form retreating through another section of the Wards.

"What was that about?" I asked as I stood.

"Just an update." He told me as we started walking. He looked pretty down, though I couldn't imagine why.

"What's wrong?" I inquired softly, grabbing his hand.

"Commander Shepard is apparently headed out to destroy the race that's been abducting colonists all over the Terminus System." He explained.

"So why is that a bad thing?" I wondered.

"As soon as she gets back." He continued, "She'll be put on trial for destroying that batarian colony."

I was surprised. I knew she had, but as much of a hero as the woman was, I assumed there was a reason behind it.

"The Alliance is going to stall as best as they can," Henry said, "But the batarians want blood. And the Alliance will let Shepard hang to avoid a war."

I found myself yet again disgusted by galactic politics. The woman had saved the Citadel and was now battling whatever had killed hundreds of thousands of colonists in the Terminus systems and her reward was a trial? And a possible execution?

"I understand that it's wrong." I told him as we stepped into the elevator to the Presidium, but why are you so down about it?"

"It's just...the stakes have been raised on our mission, now." He answered. "Not only do we have to kill this Reaper to keep it from dividing our attention, but now we have to do it to prove Shepard's loyalty."

The catch in his voice told me that it wasn't the only thing that was bothering him.

"That's not everything." I told him.

"No, it's not." He sighed as we both watched levels of the Wards slide by the elevator glass. "Our story isn't too different from her story. We're fighting under the radar and against the Council's will to save the galaxy."

I finally understood what was truly concerning him, a doubt that was lingering in the mind of everybody on Zeta Team, though none of us would admit it.

"You're afraid that even if we do kill Vanguard and bring it to the Council's front door..." I started.

"They'll still deny it and hang us out to dry." Henry confirmed. The door opened to the Presidium and he heaved a small sigh before walking out of it. I needed him to snap out of it.

"Hey." I scolded gently, looping my arm through his, "Worry about what we can do. The Council will do what it wants to do and there's nothing we can change about that."

"I know." He said quietly, a small smile on his face. "What would I do without you, Lena?"

"Probably something stupid." I reasoned.

He chuckled as we walked. Back on the Presidium, as usual. It still amazed me, sometimes, that I was up here with some of the most influential and powerful people in the galaxy. I noticed, as we walked, that some women were looking at Henry with plain desire. I could understand, even though I felt the slightest bit of possessiveness every time I saw it. He had the look of a grizzled soldier, something that wasn't seen that often, these days. People like Henry would always become important.

What was interesting to me was the looks of disgust and anger I received. I imagined it was partially because I was with Henry, but mostly because I was quarian. In earlier days, the reactions would've disgusted me. Right now, though, I merely felt the urge to laugh. I didn't care about their acceptance, STT Zeta had given me all the acceptance I needed.

We wandered for a couple hours, taking in the sights and resting around the pools and vegetation. On our shore leaves, we typically had very direct plans and not a lot of time. Now, we could relax for a bit. I felt a little tired, but we had plenty of time to sleep. Right now, the relaxation was needed far more than sleep.

We wandered into a movie theater, clearly an expensive one. Henry didn't care, though, handing over the credits for two tickets without a moment of hesitation. He bought some food for him and I was surprised to find the movie had stocked a little bit of nutrient paste for their workers (a couple of whom were quarian). With some convincing, Henry managed to get them to hand a tube over for some credits. It wasn't anything too flavorful, but it was better than I'd expected.

When we entered the movie theater, I was happy to see that it hadn't been filled. There was a huge screen up front, with comfortable pods across the large room. The pods ranged from family seating to single seating. Each of the 'pods' were sealed off and soundproofed from one another while the audio from the movie was pumped into the unit. In each pod was a very comfortable couch and the only view was a one-way mirror towards the movie, to preserve privacy. From what I heard, this setup was a combined human-asari design.

I looked around to find a guard posted outside one of the pods. He looked over at Henry and gave him a significant look. Henry smiled and started walking over.

"What's going on?" I asked, confused.

"Called ahead." He answered, "Asked for them to decontaminate the pod. They had one with a filtering unit, which they were able to convert to continually scrub the air inside the pod."

Was he suggesting what I thought he was?

"Henry," I muttered as he thanked the guard and sent him on his way, "I'm not about to have sex in a movie theater."

"I'm not asking you to." He told me, "But I figured you'd rather find another excuse to get out of that suit."

"Correct." I answered with a smirk as he opened the door to the cozy pod and gestured inside.

I stepped in and he got in with me. There was a hiss as the door closed.

"Decontamination in progress." A quiet female VI informed me over the comms.

We waited for a minute as the movie came on before the same voice said:

"Decontamination complete."

I slowly slipped out of the suit and pressed up against a rather flustered-looking Henry as he stared at me. I still wore the same undergarments I had earlier, mostly because I knew he enjoyed it.

"I never get over how beautiful you are under that suit." He informed me. I smiled as he drew me in close to him. We both glanced up to the movie, where a hanar was trading amusing comebacks with a rather obese-looking volus at a desk. I realized immediately that I found the movie uninteresting. I felt myself getting very flustered as I looked up at Henry.

_No._ I reminded myself as I felt a pleasant warmth spread throughout my entire body, _Not here._

It didn't mean we couldn't have a little fun. I ran my hand along his thigh, teasing him. He looked back to me, startled as I pressed my lips to his. His hands found my waist and then slipped lower as I straddled his hips.

"I thought you said-" He started, amused, but I cut him off with a finger to his lips.

"We can wait." I told him, "But I'm not staying on the other side of the pod, either."

He grinned as my lips met his again. I let my tongue explore his mouth as he pressed me tightly against him. I moaned and was about to push him down on the couch, promise be damned, when his omni-tool suddenly lit up. I had the distinct impression that he was going to ignore it, until he said:

"It's C-Sec."

That was quite an unusual call, so I forced myself to get off of him as he answered the call. Captain Bailey's face appeared on a small screen that popped out of his omni-tool.

"Lieutenant." the man said. He sounded a little anxious, "Good to see you again. We've got a bit of a...uh...situation, here."

"What's wrong, Captain?" He asked.

"We found your commander outside Chora's Den." Captain Bailey told him, "He's unconscious and uh...very very drunk. Typically, I'd throw him in the drunk tank and let him wait it out, but I'm not about to lock up a damn hero. I don't suppose you'd be willing to come down and take him off our hands?"

Henry sighed and looked at me as I started putting my suit back on.

"Well this date was ruined." He muttered, "Yeah, we'll be down there. I appreciate you keeping this one off official channels, Bailey."

"Just get down there quickly." He told Henry as I put my mask back on. "I don't want too many people seeing him and from what the guards tell me, he's woken up and is refusing to move from the ground."

We exited the pod quickly, much to my displeasure. I still felt 'turned on', as humans said, the feeling making me miserable as we stepped out of the pod. I looked back and realized we'd only really slept together twice. Any other free time we got was dedicated to the mission or getting rest. Every time since we'd gotten back on the Vengeance, we had just enough time to get comfortable and drift off to sleep together. It wasn't fair.

We made our way to the Wards quickly, onlookers shooting us strange glances at our clear determination to move fast. In the elevator, Henry looked down at his feet guiltily before speaking.

"I'm sorry this date got ruined so quickly." He muttered. "We were doing so good, too."

"Yes we were." I replied with a grin. "Don't worry, I think we can pick up where we left off in my room."

He didn't answer, merely looking worried. About Roluck, undoubtedly.

"You need to talk to him." I told him as the door opened and the dark red light of the Wards washed over us.

"About the whole 'being alone' thing, right?" He asked as we stepped out of the elevator and started walking again. I could see Chora's Den in the distance, up some ramps. I could also see a small crowd around the entrance.

"Yeah." I told him. "It's gotta be hard for him. We all have something or someone to come back to at the end of this mission. I don't think he does. Makes it a lot harder to fight with a clear head."

"You know, Lena," He started explaining as we pushed on ahead, "One thing I've discovered that's the absolute same with every species in the galaxy is men don't talk to other men about personal things."

"What do you mean?" I asked as we closed in.

"I don't know." He replied with a shrug as we approached the looming crowd, "It's a guy thing."

"Guys are stupid." I informed him as we arrived and took in the scene.

I tried to block out the annoying music as Henry began pushing through the crowd. I followed in his wake, preferring to let him do the pushing, since he was so much bigger. A couple of people eyed him with anger, but soon turned their eyes back to the spectacle at hand.

Roluck was on the ground on his back, glaring up drunkenly at two C-Sec officers who looked completely embarrassed. For his part, Roluck had gotten out of his armor and was now in those ridiculous robes the turians loved to wear. He clutched a half-empty bottle in one hand as he yelled up at the officers.

"Fought through the goddamn geth on the Citadel for you bastards!" He slurred, his flanged voice disturbed as he pointed a shaking finger at the turian C-Sec officer. "I'm not gonna be judged by you! I've done my part!"

"Roluck." Henry said severely, walking up to the turian and drawing grateful sighs from both C-Sec officers.

"Henry!" Roluck replied, his eyes sparkling with delight, "Wh-"

Henry ended whatever he was going to say when he came down on Roluck's jaw with his fist. I winced as I heard the impact, but turians were a lot more tough than humans on the surface. So he was probably okay. Roluck went limp, his eyes closing.

"That wasn't necessary, sir." One of the C-Sec guards informed Henry. Henry eyed the turian up and said,

"Don't worry about it, he's fine. We'll get him back to the ship."

"Show's over people!" The other C-Sec officer, an asari, yelled. She shooed everyone away. "Get back to your drinks."

Everyone groaned as Henry shot me a look.

"Help me with him, will you?" He asked.

Henry slid the bottle out of his grasp and handed it to the turian.

"Thank you for your help." I told the man.

"You all saved me personally on the Citadel two years ago." The guard told us. "I'm just trying to return the favor."

Henry gave the man a nod and we started walking. Roluck was surprisingly light out of his armor, but I supposed it was because turians were so skinny.

We had about thirty seconds of uninterrupted time before we were in the elevator. That's when Roluck woke up.

"Hey, Henry, Lena." He grinned, his mandibles drooping slightly. "You're not trying to force me into a three-way, are you? I'm not sure I really trust you enough for that, Henry."

Henry chuckled, clearly humoring the turian.

"We're just here to make sure you get back to the ship alright." Henry said, "We all need some sleep, right now."

"Yeah." He replied, then looked at both of us as the elevator opened and we found ourselves facing our docking bay. "You guys...I've never had friends like you two."

He took a couple of breaths and started talking, his voice...sad.

"I saw her, you know?" He asked Henry.

"Who?" Henry asked, looking down at him. I found myself curious as to who he was talking about, as well.

"Right before I shot her." Roluck continued, as though he hadn't heard Henry. He stared at the deck as he hung limply between us. "In that second, I saw her. Innocence, strength and guilt. I murdered an innocent woman."

Roluck went silent and I realized who he meant. Elura. I looked over at Henry and he was looking back at me with a very concerned look about his face as the elevator door opened.

We stepped onto the actual bay and began the walk to our ship, Roluck attempting to walk but unable to get the footing right. We passed through the airlock and arrived just in time to see Allison coming back from the cockpit.

"Is he alright?" She wondered, her expression torn between amusement and concern.

"Hey All-" He started, but Henry clamped a hand over the turian's mouth. Friends or no, he was still her commander.

"He's fine." I told Allison.

"He just needs to sleep it off." Henry assured her. "Could you do us a favor and clear the deck?"

"Sure." She said, disappearing from view and loudly shooing away the few people still on the deck. She came back and gave us a smile. "Nobody's on the crew quarters, you should be fine."

"Thanks." I told her.

"Also," she said, "There are techs on the ship where the commander cabin of a Normandy-class ship would typically be."

Roluck's voice was muffled against Henry's hand, but Henry kept the hand clamped there regardless.

"Who authorized that?" I wondered.

"General Toulius." She replied, "He escorted them in. Since there is no cabin up there, they are installing what they call a 'war room'."

"We'll investigate tomorrow." Henry told her, "For now..."

He directed a pointed look at Roluck.

"I need to get my shore leave in." Allison answered with a grin. "And I suppose you two will probably be...busy...anyways."

I felt my cheeks heat up as Allison swept out of the airlock.

We made it all the way down to the crew quarters without incident, before arriving at his (slightly larger) room. He was already passed out, so we laid him down on his bed before closing the door behind him.

"Now," I said, looking back at Henry, "back to business."

Henry grinned and picked me up in his arms, carrying me down to what I had now come to call 'our' room. We stepped inside and stripped back down as the decontamination protocols washed over us.

"This will only be the third time." Henry muttered, "If you count the week in Omega as one big time. Depressing. Most married couples get more than this in two and a half years."

"Shut up." I ordered him, more or less attacking the man and forcing him back onto the bed. I had already taken the undergarments off, not concerned with them anymore. I pressed my lips to his as we continued the action from the movie theater. His hands ran up my thighs as I explored the lower parts of his body with my own hands.

"Better than a jellyfish any day." Henry gasped as I curled my fingers around him and removed my lips from his to come up for air. I laughed as I swung my leg over his, eager to get back to what we'd almost started in the movie theater. I felt pleasure building all the way through me as I slowly lowered myself onto him.

It was a feeling I hadn't forgotten in those two years, but one I so rarely got to feel. I gasped when our hips finally met, unable to contain my sounds, anymore.

"One of these days," I informed him, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him up to me. His arms wrapped around my back as we pulled each other close, still locked in position. "You're going to run out of clever commentary."

"Never." Henry said, his eyes twinkling right before I attacked again.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	39. Chapter 39

I woke up nestled next to Henry. I didn't want to get out of bed, too happy where I was.

But, as I was constantly aware, there was work to be done. I was wiling to bet we'd slept for ten to twelve hours. I stretched against Henry, an action that was not lost on him as he stirred next to me.

"This is at least the sixth best way to wake up." He mumbled.

"Sixth?" I snapped, nonetheless amused that even directly after being woken up, he could still make a joke. I rolled over to find him trying to keep his eyes shut.

"Just ten more hours." He muttered. I planted my lips on his quickly, before getting out of bed.

As I put my suit back on, I felt pride that I wasn't even feeling a tiny cough coming on. It was a strange feeling, after having lived my life in terror of sickness for so many years.

I got cleaned off in our showers before I got re-dressed and started walking through the ship. According to my Omni-tool, there were still two hours left of our shore leave. I wondered if Roluck was up yet. If he was, I was sure I'd run into him eventually. Right now, I wanted to talk to Gin after I ate, to see if he had anything new.

I went down to the mess and was surprised to see Ilna there. She sat at one of the tables and looked up at me as I grabbed some paste from the crate in one of the cabinets. I was surprised we were constantly well stocked, considering the size of our crew. I supposed that it was one of the things Roluck took care of that we weren't made aware of.

"I'm surprised you're here." I told Ilna, sitting across from the blond woman, "I thought for sure you'd be with your children."

"They're sleeping now." llna informed me, a wistful smile on her face, "I'm not going to see them when they wake up, so I figured it'd be better to get ready."

"How are they?" I asked as I screwed in the tube. I felt the small port leading to my mouth pushing the paste through, which I slowly chewed on. The paste was tasteless, which wasn't a bad thing. I'd had far worse and the STT had provided at least decent rations.

"They're fine." She replied. A slow grin spread across her mouth. "Samantha, my daughter, has a little crush on Flynt, it seems. Says he's a 'bad boy'."

I laughed at the phrase. I supposed it fit, since Flynt was a criminal who made his living beating krogans and batarians to death with his bare hands. Still, he was a talented biotic, which we desperately needed.

"I heard there was an incident at Chora's Den." The woman said, raising an eyebrow. "A turian with a black face, red markings. Got rescued by a quarian and human couple."

"Roluck's...not doing so well." I confessed. I wasn't sure if I should be sharing this with her, but she seemed trustworthy enough. Plus, Henry wasn't going to talk to Roluck about it. Mostly because, as he'd said, men didn't talk to other men about their feelings. "I don't suppose you heard the story behind Elura?"

"Errahe mentioned her." Ilna confirmed with a nod, "I didn't get too many details, only that she used to lead the team before Vether."

"Right." I said, nodding. "What you don't know is that she was indoctrinated. She killed PFC Krylin, a turian who meant a lot to Roluck. She nearly killed Henry, beating him half to death after he'd taken a shotgun to the stomach-"

"God..." she muttered, looking supremely disturbed.

"We caught up to her recently, on Rothla." I told her. "Roluck had been so bent on revenge that he only realized when he shot her that it hadn't been her fault."

The woman stared at me as I shrugged.

"He knows he killed an innocent woman." I told her, "He knows that he had to do it. That, combined with the fact that he's got nobody to come back to in the galaxy, is weighing on him hard."

"Damn." Ilna replied, "And I thought my 'assassin and mother of two' story was rough."

"It's been a very costly war." I told her, "And we're only in the opening moves of it."

For the first time, Ilna seemed to understand the gravity of everything. She may not have believed in the Reapers, but she knew that we were out fighting something. Something that was turning our friends against us and forcing us to slaughter pretty much every type of being by the dozens. As much as we'd lost to this war already, the fight hadn't even truly begun.

It was a strange concept to me, too. I was fully aware of the devastation that the Reapers would bring to this galaxy. I was aware of it and it still seemed like something that would never happen, especially in my lifetime. Fighting everyday, against real enemies with blood and bones, kept my mind off the threat that was looming. The threat that would be here within a solar year.

The paste was finished and I didn't feel that hungry anymore. I unscrewed the small tube and stood.

"I'll see you later." I told Ilna. She gave me a nod, her face set in stone as she processed everything I'd told her. I felt a little sorry for revealing so much about Roluck, but I doubted this woman realized exactly what we were up against. She needed to be aware, needed to know that this wasn't an assassination contract against some batarian Red Sand dealer.

I walked by Henry, who had managed to tear himself out of bed. He looked well, if still tired. He was dressed in the blue casual Marine dress, though it looked a little messed up. He was holding what I recognized as a mug and it was filled with a dark liquid that I'd come to find out was coffee. It was a stimulant that had become popular amongst every species after the humans had brought it with them from their world.

He shot me a weary smile and said,

"Come down to the shuttle bay when you're done, I've got a surprise for the Team."

"Does it involve guns?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"What do I do that doesn't?" He muttered mutinously as he shuffled past on his way to get some food. I laughed at his grumpiness as I opened the elevator. In a few moments, I found myself on the Crew Deck. I walked out and past a table that two turians were lounging at as they swapped ship stories. I strode into Gin Kalus' office. I wasn't surprised to find the little volus at his desk. He spun when I entered.

"Perfect timing, Admiral." He said respectfully through his wheezes, "I've got something."

Everything else was driven out of my mind. We may have had a mission. Given how excitable he was (for a volus), I assumed I hadn't wasted a trip.

"Show me what you've got." I ordered him. He nodded and gestured to the monitors. They showed a small planet that looked like it was covered entirely in desert.

"This is Asteria." He told me, "Located in the Hekate System of the Hades Nexus."

"Outside Council space." I noted. He gave me a look that I would've classified as shrewd.

"Indeed." He answered finally. He looked back at the monitor, before gesturing to the one above it. I saw lines of reporting going out and wasn't quite sure of what I was looking at.

_He's either brilliant or insane._I thought to myself.

"What am I seeing?" I asked him.

"Orbital satellites." He told me. "They collect information on surrounding space and...it's not important. Either way, this colony world is settled at the poles by a large human and asari population. The last resupply and research team just left the system an hour ago. They aren't scheduled to arrive for another week. Look at the time stamps on the last transmissions from the satellites."

That, I could do. I looked at all of the time stamps. They ended within minutes of each other, thirty minutes ago.

"How often do they send information to the colony?" I wondered. He looked up at me.

"Every ten minutes."

I felt a chill run through my body, along with excitement. This was it, one of the strikes we were here to prevent.

"Any transmissions?" I asked.

"None." He told me. "No radio, no satellite, nothing. I wanted to get a second pair of eyes on this before I sent it."

"Send a message to Captain Vether." I ordered him. "Great work, Gin."

"Thank you, Admiral." He replied distractedly, already typing on his omni-tool. I started to leave, when he called me back. He'd already finished and sent the message.

"One other note." He informed me, "About two battalions of militia trained by Lieutenant Gerrard are down there."

"You're a gift from the Ancestors." I informed him as I swept out of the room. I headed for the elevator and stepped in just as my omni-tool instantly lit up. I looked down to see the message had been sent from Roluck to all the team and crew.

-EMERGENCY PRIORITY-

-POSSIBLE ATTACK ON COLONY-

-ALL PERSONNEL DIRECTED TO RETURN TO THE VENGEANCE IMMEDIATELY-

-20 MINUTES TO DEPARTURE-

-LEADS PROVIDE ACCOUNTABILITY-

-END OF MESSAGE-

I guess he is awake. I thought to myself. I stopped at the mess again, to find Ilna and Henry eating fast.

"Do you know what's going on?" Henry asked me as I approached.

"Asteria may be under attack." I informed him as I sat down with them. "Gin found out that their satellites had all stopped reporting in thirty minutes after a supply an research team left the colony."

"Asteria..." Henry muttered, rubbing at his chin, "I think I trained some people from there."

"Two battalions." I told him. "According to Gin."

"Aren't you the celebrity?" Ilna teased.

"That little volus came through." He admitted, looking at me, "I didn't think he'd be that useful. Remind me to get him a beer or...whatever they drink...sometime."

"He says the populations are isolated at the poles." I said, "It seems like the perfect target."

"They're massed together." Henry agreed as Ilna looked between us. "The Reapers take one pole and then transition down to the other. How often does resupply come through, do you know?"

"Weekly." I told him. His face darkened.

"Then the Reaper has a week to indoctrinate some forces and either vanish with the colonists or start the war there."

"And we're not going to let that happen." Ilna followed. "How do you two figure all this out?"

"You were a good sniper when I taught you, if I recall correctly." Henry told me, "But you're no tactician, yet. You'll get used to it. For now, follow Roluck's lead. He knows best."

As if summoned, Roluck appeared from around the corner, already in his armor. He looked...surprisingly calm, considering how he'd been the night before.

"Good job, Lena." He praised as he grabbed something out of the cabinets. "I still need to thank Gin when I see him. Henry, you said you had something for us?"

"A couple things." Henry admitted with a maddeningly smug smile. "I took care of those Locusts for Errahe yesterday. I've also finished the project I'd been working on and modified my armor a little bit."

"When did you find the time to do that?" He wondered. Henry shot me a look as the smile fell.

"I was...in and out yesterday." He answered. Ilna looked between the two of us, uncomprehending.

I wasn't sure whether I should feel angry or impressed. So I went for both.

"How did you slip out without waking me?" I wondered, failing at angry.

"I'm a sniper, Lena." He replied, winking at me.

"Wait." Ilna asked, holding her hands up to stop any and all current conversation. "You two are-"

"Yes." Roluck answered for us, cutting her off. He looked up at Ilna. "Could you do me a favor and give the three of us a couple minutes alone?"

"Yeah." She answered, looking somewhere between disgusted and surprised as she stood and started out towards the elevator. Roluck watched her go and shook his head.

"She might be a problem." He muttered. Then he looked at the two of us, his blue gaze darting between us, clearly uncomfortable.

"I-" he started, then stopped, clearly not sure what to say.

"It's alright." Henry answered, smirking.

"You sure?" Roluck asked, a small grin on his face.

"Yeah," Henry replied, "It's fine."

"Thanks."

_What the hell just happened?_I wondered, looking between the two men.

"You two didn't even say anything!" I exclaimed.

"We don't need to." Henry informed me, the smirk turning deadly serious. "Men are the masters of communication."

"Bosh'tets." I grumbled.

"So what project were you working on, again?" Roluck asked, "Something about specialized ammunition?"

"Yeah." Henry replied, "I've modified twenty thermal clips. They have built in cooling systems, now. Each thermal clip takes about six minutes to cool down enough to be fully usable again."

"Reusable ammo?" Roluck asked, clearly entertained by the idea. "Wouldn't they still be hot on the way out?"

"Absolutely." Henry replied, "About four minutes before they're cool enough to pick up. So it'd be wise to keep track of them. That's not the main feature, though."

"What is?" I asked.

"I've got the thermal clips modified to fire special projectiles." He replied. "Disruptor technology, which is of course great against shields and synthetics. I've also managed to procure some incineration tech, which I installed in other clips, great for organics or mouthy slavers. There was a high density modifier that I applied to some of them that will fire ammo meant for armor and cover penetration. Lastly, Hahne-Kedar sent me cryo tech, which I'm still trying to figure out. For the moment, though, we have those options."

"Where did you get all this?" Roluck asked.

"Experimental tech." He answered immediately, "Most of it came from General Toulius and Councilor Anderson. Too expensive for widespread use."

"You're a genius, you know that?" Roluck praised.

"Don't tell him that." I moaned, "He already thinks he's good as it is."

"You never complain." He fired back.

A slow grin spread over my face, not that he could see it. He was right, there. Roluck clearly caught the looks we were giving one another, because he let out an uncomfortable cough.

"I should...check on accountability." He muttered. "Yeah...accountability...both of you be up in the war room in ten minutes."

I ran a finger up Henry's thigh, intentionally teasing him. He cocked an eyebrow at me, immediately interested in what I was doing.

"I should go check on my people." I told him.

"Damn you, woman." He grumbled as he stood up and strode to get more coffee. I laughed as I walked to the elevator. A crowd of turian crewmembers passed me, headed for the guns.

The elevator was crammed full of excited-looking Alliance techs when I walked in.

"Admiral." One of the humans said, "Do you know what's going on?"

"A colony might be under attack." I answered, drawing gazes from everyone in the elevator as they hung onto my every word. Clearly, they were all very curious about what this mission entailed. "I don't know details. Gin found out about it only by finding their lack of communications."

The door opened to engineering and I found myself staring down a hallway full of pipes and circuitry. The Alliance techs got out with me as I walked to the core. I found Risha'Zun there, along with the rest of my crew.

"Admiral on deck!" One of the engineers said, coming to attention. The rest of them looked around, surprised. I didn't exactly visit down here often, usually more concerned with the affairs of the action team.

_I should rectify that._ I hedged, feeling a guilty spark in me. _They're my people, I should be with them._

"At ease." I ordered, cutting all of them off before they could come to attention. "Are we up, Risha'Zun?"

"Yes we are, Admiral." She answered, "Everyone's accounted for."

"Did you all even leave the ship?" I wondered. A couple of them shifted uneasily from foot to foot.

"Staff Sergeant Trenel wasn't around to escort us." Risha answered quietly, staring down at the deck.

I felt a fit of rage descend upon me. Even now, after all we'd done, my people were too scared to leave the ship for fear of the racism that awaited them out on the Citadel. I understood their concerns, as much as it disgusted me.

"To hell with that." I replied angrily. "Next time we go to the Citadel, you're all coming with me. Anybody who has a problem with it can bring it to me."

"Yes, Admiral." Risha'Zun replied. Then she cocked her head at me, "What's the details on this mission?"

"Not much detail." I admitted. "We're not even sure it's an attack, only that it looks like one. Just keep doing what you do best and we'll get through this."

"Yes, Admiral." The engineers chorused as one. I realized that I had to get up to the War Room. I walked away and got right back into the elevator.

_I really want to just climb a ladder, sometime._ I thought to myself. _If I ever see Rannoch again, I'm going to make sure there are only stairs and ladders in every building._

When I reached the top deck, I found myself in a small corridor that led to another door. I strode into the door and was surprised by what met me.

The room was large, by the standards of a ship. The room was dark, lit only by a large circular terminal in the center that was lined with chairs.

Most of the team was already here. Roluck and Henry were both looking down at a display and discussing something quietly. The light from the terminal lit both of their faces and made them look far more grim than they were. Not that the situation at hand wasn't something to be concerned about, of course.

When Krieg and Enua, the last stragglers of the team, showed up, Roluck glanced down at his omni-tool. He read through messages, before turning to another, smaller terminal in the corner.

"Anna." He ordered.

The ship's AI materialized on the terminal, 'her' hands behind her back at parade rest.

"Yes, Captain Vether?" She asked, the tiny form looking up at him.

"We're ready to go." He said, "Tell Corporal Shields to get us moving."

"Yes, sir." She answered, disappearing from the terminal. Roluck turned to all of us. I watched as he pressed a button on the terminal and a large view of Asteria.

"This is Asteria." He informed us all quietly. "A joint human-asari colony in the Hades Nexus Cluster. Colonies only at the poles to avoid the extreme heat further across the planet. About half an hour ago, it went quiet. We're goign to go down there and figure out if this is a Reaper attack or something else."

"It's perfectly located." Henry replied, "The Council won't investigate, since it's in the Terminus systems. Plus, they've got a week before any ships show up for research or supply."

"We trained a couple battalions of militia from Asteria." Krieg grunted. "Can't wait to see how they fare."

"Do we have anymore information?" Enua asked. I noticed that she seemed uncharacteristically worried. "I don't like going in there without some sort of intel."

"We don't have any." Roluck shrugged. "Now, one other thing. Henry?"

"Yes." Henry said, pushing himself out of the chair. "Errahe, your Locusts are ready if you are."

"Insulting." Errahe replied. I almost giggled at the mock-offended tone of his voice. "Of course I can handle them."

"And secondly," Henry replied, "I've developed specialized ammunition. Twenty re-usable thermal clips, each designed for armor-penetration, shield disruption and synthetics and incendiary rounds."

I saw Krieg perk up from across the terminal.

"Did you say incendiary?" He asked, his voice a hopeful whisper. I wondered if he'd been this hopeful and excited when he'd heard about Bikir being born.

This time, I did giggle, the first time the unprofessional sound had passed from my lips in this outfit. Enua and Eryc glanced at me.

"Yes." Henry replied, a slow grin making its way across his face.

"As in 'lights people on fire' incendiary?" Krieg continued.

"Yes."

A wide grin spread over the big krogan's face.

"I think I'm going to like this mission." He rumbled.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	40. Chapter 40

I looked around the Mako, the cramped quarters made even worse by the hulking form of Eryc. He was in charge of firing the turret when we dropped and I was the driver.

The situation had been exactly what we had all figured when we entered the system. Everyone had seen it on screens all over the ship. The desert planet had been completely dominated. The satellites orbiting the planet were completely destroyed, preventing any and all communication to other systems.

Worse, we'd all seen Vanguard. Ilna had been horrified to see the Reaper lurking on the other side of the planet, waiting for its forces to decimate the poles so it could move in and start indoctrinating the humans and asari that lived there. I thought of the thing Elura had almost become and shivered.

Roluck had called the Alliance Fifth Fleet. Admiral Hackett had responded, promising enough ships to lure the Reaper away once we were in and fighting.

The plan was to have Allison drop us behind friendly lines. We'd get settled and reinforce where we were needed. We'd weather the battle and beat the Reaper forces while Allison kept the Reaper in pursuit. When she lured him into the right place, the Fifth Fleet would jump in and lure the Reaper out of the system. They'd also slip a landing force around the back and ensure that there were enough troops to crush the invasion. From the initial jump, they'd continually split through jumps and relays until, at most, the Reaper only had one ship to follow. It was a well-founded plan.

But the Reapers had a way of destroying well-founded plans.

"How do you think this will go?" Eryc asked quietly. "In all seriousness?"

"Last time, we had air support." I told him, "We were in space, we had immediate extraction and they were being funneled at us. Out here...entirely different. It's going to be disturbing, I'll warn you ahead of time."

Eryc went quiet for a moment, pensive. Then he gave me an appraising look.

"We'll beat them." He said confidently. "We're some of the best the galaxy has and seeing us fight, I believe it. Though I'm not so keen about working with a batarian."

_Ah,_ I thought to myself,_ I almost forgot that he used to be a slave for one of them._

"I'm glad you're optimistic." I muttered.

"We're approaching the LZ." Allison informed us over the comms system. "ETA thirty seconds."

"You're not?" He asked. Despite his usually rough demeanor, he was suprisingly quiet and reserved at the moment.

I closed my eyes and thought of Elura, her disfigured, grey skin and empty red eyes. I could still see Henry, after the Battle of the Citadel, seated up against a Kodiak next to Krylin's dead body with a grenade in hand. He'd been bleeding so badly that I hadn't been able to tell where he'd been shot. I'd cried, not that anyone had been able to see it, while he'd been in the care of the medics. I had been convinced that he wasn't going to make it.

"No." I told him, "I don't dare to."

Silence, then:

"When I first got to Illum-" He started, but he was cut off.

"LZ in sight." Allison reported, "Get ready to drop."

I glanced at Eryc, who nodded to me understandingly before turning his attention to the turret controls.

The shuttle bay doors opened, one on each side. The sight before me was one I hadn't seen in years.

Before me was an arid world, where farming was done in small building meant specifically for it. Sand lay all around the colony, which wasn't built up to the sky as much as it was built outwards. The buildings were mostly housing, though I was able to pick out a few research stations.

One one side of the town, there was a hastily built barricade of overturned vehicles and whatever scrap metal could be found. I saw well-equipped soldiers behind the barricades, holding off what looked like thousands of Reaper units. The units didn't include anything big, like the krogan husk, but there were enough turian and human husks that it didn't really matter. Still, they were clearly holding, though I saw a lot of buildings on the other side of the colony burning.

As we neared, the Kodiak was the first out. I quickly pushed the throttle forward on the Mako and we dropped from the Vengeance.

"Igniting boosters." Eryc reported. I felt a small jolt that pressed me into the chair as he hit the Mako's undercarriage boosters to slow our descent. We hit the ground with a jolt. We were between a couple of houses. I saw the Kodiak land nearby. Troops rushed up to the Mako. They were armored in shoddy black armor, though it still trumped them wearing clothes. Most of them were armed with the standard Avenger-issue assault rifles. Every ten men or so there'd be a Mantis sniper rifle.

This was not the kind of planet I'd be alright with living on. Even through the suit, I could faintly feel the heat and dust was whipping around in clouds everywhere. The sun glared into my visor and threatened to blind me. I looked up to see Vanguard in the sky, surprisingly close to the colony. Allison had pulled away and zoomed past the Reaper, much to its annoyance.

"You know," Eryc complained, "No matter what you do, there's never a clean landing in one of these things."

"But they're nearly invincible." I reasoned, "So it's worth it. Let's get out."

We popped open the hatch and climbed out. The lead man, a Marine Lieutenant, addressed us over the sound of distant gunfire and explosions.

"I'm not in the habit of asking questions in a time of need," He told Flynt, glancing at me uneasily, "But who are you guys?"

"Special Tasks Team Zeta, sir." Eryc introduced, wisely declining to salute in the middle of a battle. "I'm PFC Flynt and the shy quarian over there is Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance."

"Wasn't Staff Sergeant Gerrard in STT Zeta?" One of the men piped up.

"It's Lieutenant, now." I told them. "And he landed in the Kodiak with the rest of the team. Take me to your commander, we have planning to do."

"Yes, ma'am." The Lieutenant replied with a salute. He looked to his unit, a combination of asari and human troops. "Let's get them down there, fast."

"Bring the Mako with us." I ordered Eryc. He nodded and climbed in as I pulled out the Eviscerator. I pulled myself up on top the Mako by the cannon barrel and looped an arm around it as the Lieutenant and his platoon started jogging off to the east. Nearby, I could see a heavily fortified position that could only be the hastily-constructed command post.

We crossed a street and I looked out towards the frontline, which was about 200 meters from this position. There were teams of two or three every ten feet or so, holding down a barricade and popping up over it to fire at a target every once in a while. I noticed turrets scattered about the barricade. I winced when a round passed too close to me and crouched down to make myself a smaller target.

Then we were back behind the houses, in an alleyway of sorts, as the platoon started running. The Lieutenant yelled something to his platoon and they stopped right before a clearing. He looked back at us and held out a hand.

"Need assistance?!" I yelled.

"They've broken through the barricade!" He responded.

"Out of the way!" I ordered. He stepped aside and Eryc guided the Mako past the troops until we were in the middle of the street. I stepped over the cannon as it rotated towards a crowd of human husks headed our way from two directions. One group was coming down an alleyway and the other was streaming through a hole in the barricade. I looked at the rather panic-stricken Lieutenant.

"Give me a squad!" I yelled. "Flynt will escort you up to the barricade! I'll get your squad up to the other breach!"

"Second squad!" The Lieutenant yelled, clearly good now that he didn't have to make the decisions, "Follow the Admiral!"

A group of thirteen asari and humans chased after me as I went barreling down the alleyway. I remember reading the reports of these husks. They didn't have any ranged weapons, so disposing of them at short range was incredibly easy. I heard the booming of the Mako cannon behind me and the ground exploded in front of the husks, knocking back the first wave and stunning a few of them. Then the Mako was away, headed for the main breach.

"Get some cover!" I yelled to the squad behind me, sliding down behind a set of stairs to the entrance of a house. I briefly entertained the idea of loading the incendiary thermal clip, before deciding that I didn't need these things to be stumbling around on fire, too.

I raised myself just above the stairs and found a husk getting up from the explosion. I fired the shotgun, the rounds tearing through what was left of the husk's skull and forcing him to fold in and fall to the ground. The squad behind me began to open fire, surprisingly coordinated and accurate enough that they began to tear through the wave of husks. I got bold and leaped over the stairs. As my feet hit the ground, a husk jumped out from the alleyway in front of me. I didn't hesitate, merely continuing the movement of the landing and pushing my weight forward as my elbow came up. The stock of the shotgun slammed into its jaw an knocked it to the ground. I looked past the husk to see four more incoming. I pulled out a frag grenade, primed it and threw it down the alley. I jumped forward, clearing the entrance as I ducked down behind a vehicle.

There was a blast behind me that nearly flattened me to the ground, but I stayed on my feet and popped out of cover, blowing a large hole through the chest of another husk. I glanced back to see my squad slowly advancing behind me.

"Two of you on the right!" I yelled as another wave of husks started pushing through up front. I saw a few turian husks alongside them.

"Lena, where are you and Eryc?" Roluck demanded over the comms.

"They broke through the barricade down here." I told him as an asari with an Avenger pushed up next to me, giving me a quick nod before firing at the incoming husks. I primed a grenade and tossed it over my head "We-"

The grenade detonated and a lot of husks died with a moan s the shrapnel tore through them.

"We're advancing, should be there within five minutes."

"Acknowledged." Roluck said, "Do you need assistance?"

"We'll be fine, I'm sure." I answered. "As long as they don't start bringing in heavier units!"

There was the sound of a round hitting flesh and the asari next to me fell, heaving as blood gurgled up from the wound. I cursed and popped back up from cover to find a turian husk advancing. I fired two shots into him quickly, sending what used to be a turian to the ground. Fire from the rest of the squad finished the turian husk off. I reloaded, looking at the asari next to me. She stared at the sky and I couldn't help but wonder what her possible last moment were like.

"Medic!" I yelled.

_Is she happy to be dying to protect her friends?_ I wondered as another round skipped off the vehicle, _Or does she dream of returning to Thessia, or her real home?_

I nearly shivered when I realized it could be me lying there one day. All of my struggles and triumphs and failures and fights ending in the blink of an eye. Staring up at the sky of a world I had never called 'Home'.

I shook the thoughts off as a round passed in front of me and nearly took the head off of an advancing human. He didn't hold anything but a pistol, but a white cross had been stenciled to his armor. He immediately dug in a pack at his hip while keeping one hand on the asari's chest. He looked up at me.

"She might make it!" He yelled, "You're clear to go, Admiral!"

I nodded and threw another grenade. This one impacted right at the front of the husk line, dropping five of them. I glanced up as they started to turn tail and run, clearly trying to regroup outside the barricade and find another way in.

"Advance!" I yelled to what was left of the squad behind me. They all came up from cover, firing the rifles as they went. Husks began to drop as I kicked off from my kneeling position and started running after the remnants of the Reaper assault. I fired my shotgun into the back of one of the husks, dropping him.

_Damn._ I thought to myself as they started running for the small hole in a shoddy, makeshift barricade a hundred meters up._ They're going to get away._

There was a screech of brakes and the Mako suddenly came tumbling end over end from a side street ahead of me.

"I've never had this much fun in my life!" Eryc yelled over the comms. He landed directly on a group of three husks and blocked the group's escape. There was a brief moment of confusion from the human husks until they turned and ran down a different street. There were only six left.

I primed my last grenade and threw it as hard as I could. It landed in front of them and they seemed to shrink back as a group right before it detonated. The explosion took three of them and the remainder dropped due to combined fire from the squad behind me..

"Never thought I'd see Reaper forces running away from a quarian." Eryc joked. I smiled inside the visor. "I can see why you're on the team."

"Help us get the barricade repaired." I ordered him softly. The hatch popped open and he pushed his way out. I jogged to the hole in the barricade and Eryc used his biotics to force a thick piece of scrap metal from a nearby house and hold it in place. I was surprised to see some asari come out of the houses and start soldering the gap closed. When they were done, Eryc dropped his hands and looked at me. Then past me.

"You got anything for them?" He asked, nodding to the squad behind me. I turned to them and saw hopeful, inspired faces. I let another smile slip through, glad that I'd been able to be an example to them. I looked at the injured asari, who had been patched up enough by the medic that she was still walking, though not exactly combat ready. She could still have a use, though.

"You!" I pointed at her, "You're in charge, for now. Have this squad hold the barricade here."

"Yes, Admiral." The asari replied, an unsure look on her face.

"You did good." I told them all, "Hell, you did great. Now ensure that they don't get through here again. We've got STT Zeta on the ground and the Alliance Fifth Fleet on the way to help hold this colony and hopefully we can all walk back home today!"

The militia let out an unfamiliar, bellowing cry that I was sure they'd learned from Henry before they scattered and started to set up positions.

"I need to get myself a quarian woman." I heard Eryc mumble. I laughed, trying not to hurt the young man's feelings when I did so.

"You'll have to try harder than a couple of Mako flips, big guy." I told him.

"Yes, ma'am." He replied, a wicked smile on his face.

"Not for me, either." I clarified.

"Acknowledged."

I shook my head in amusement and pressed a hand to the communicator.

"Roluck." I reported, "Eryc and I managed to seal the two breaches. We're on our way."

"Good to hear." Roluck answered, "The Captain over here is getting pretty worked up, so hurry back."

"You got it."

I ushered Eryc into the Mako and climbed atop it again. I looked up into the sky to see the distant Reaper being hassled by Allison. She had no way to destroy it or even do any actual damage to it, but since she wasn't worried about weapons, she was able to fly circles around the slower ship and keep it away from the colony. I just hoped her luck held out long enough for us to finish this.

We got to the gate of the command center, which was manned by two turrets and three additional militia troops.

"Welcome." The Lieutenant up on top of the gate greeted me as he gestured for one of his men to open it. When the gate swung open, I found myself staring at what had clearly used to be a market or some other sort of heavily used plaza. Now, there were guns being piled up in racks while a bigger building was being used for the wounded, not that there were many. At first, I was encouraged by the lack of wounded, but then realized that the Reapers never left that many wounded on the battlefield.

Troops were running around with messages and supplies as we neared a small house. Eryc stopped the vehicle and I jumped off of the top as he climbed out. I landed with a little bit of a wobble, but steadied myself out and walked through the door.

The command post was small, built more for utility than to impress. There was a hastily-constructed terminal in the middle of the room, which STT Zeta and a militia Captain were gathered around. Communication equipment was set up around it, with people manning the equipment and relaying back enemy positions and friendly statuses. Not a perfect set up, but enough for their needs.

Roluck looked up as I approached and flashed me a grin.

"How many did you two kill?" He wondered. "Hundreds."

"I only caught maybe a dozen." I told him, "Eryc had the Mako."

"Disappointing..." Henry mocked, a smirk on his face as he shook his head.

_Cocky is right._I thought to myself.

I did note the difference in his armor he'd mentioned before, now that I was here. The white shoulder pad he'd swapped out on the armor had been replaced by a bigger shoulderpad, making the armor look disproportionate. I knew why he did it, though. He never complained, but I noticed stiffness in the shoulder he fired Angel from. The rifle had a kick that wasn't really meant to be handled by a human, so it left his shoulder sore after every mission.

He'd also painted the other arm white and detached the plates around the bicep and tricep of his arm. Instead, he'd looped what looked like webbing around it, to which he'd attached several extra thermal clips. Instead of his usual helmet, he simply wore the orange visor the team had gotten him two years ago.

Ilna was also wearing armor, to my surprise. Her armor, though, was the standard N7 armor. Only the N7 had been crossed out rather crudely and "Mother of Two." was stenciled over it. I tried to fight back the laugh that threatened to erupt from me.

_She may be a little arrogant._ I thought to myself,_ But at least she has some personality._

"If I could interrupt." The Captain cut in, annoyed, "We have a colony to save."

He looked at the two of us.

"Captain Kheyes. Thank you for sealing those breaches." He told us, "Those two were a big push and they were way too close to the command post."

"What's the plan?" I asked.

The Captain pushed around the team and gestured to the terminal in the middle of the room. I looked down into it to find a surprisingly well-thought out defense set up. Blue forces were scattered in a rough semi-circle, barricaded in houses and actual barricades around the city. At the end of each circle was a fortified position, to prevent the Reapers from slipping around the semi-circle. Since it was only desert on those two ends, the position would have no trouble gunning them down.

"What are the green designators?" I asked, gesturing to a large...well...glob of green in the center of the semi-circle.

"Civilians." Captain Kheyes grunted. "We don't have air for an evacuation and we're going to be forced to hold this colony to the last, so they're getting a very fast crash-course on how to handle and shoot a weapon. They reinforce our positions as a last resort. Hopefully, with Lieutenant Gerrard and Krieg here-"

The man gave an appreciative nod to the two and I nearly groaned, disgusted with the worship Henry was getting on this planet. He was going to be so cocky when he got back to the ship. I'd have to knock him down a little bit to even it out before I was trapped with it in close quarters.

"We're getting the hardest pushes in three spots around the perimeter." He told us, touching the hologram. Where his finger landed, a red "X" would spring up. "What I need is a sniper and assault man at each one. I want to have the Mako and the Kodiak provide mobile support across the perimeter."

"We can do that." Roluck reassured him. "We have to hold out until the Fifth Fleet Marines get here. Shouldn't be but another half hour."

"We could all be dead in another half hour."Captain Kheyes noted, "I've got 250 men left, three-thousand helpless civilians and they outnumber us ten to one."

"We can help." Roluck confirmed. "Don't worry, Asteria will hold."

"Right." Captain Keyes muttered, "I'm glad you're in charge. I'll be on frequency 97.2 for the comms channel."

"You got it." Roluck replied. "I'll start our planning now."

Roluck gestured us all outside and looked around at the group.

"You heard the man." He told us. "Krieg, Eryc, you two are in the Mako. Lia'Vael and Lena, you're in the Kodiak."

"Roger." Eryc replied.

"Who?" Roluck asked, looking a little confused. I'd heard Henry and Flynt used the name as an affirmative several times, so I was used to it, by now.

Eryc just shook his head. Roluck looked at me expectantly.

I wasn't too sure about the Kodiak. It could provide close-air support, but this was a pretty dense battlefield.

_Still,_ I reasoned, _You should do your best._

"I'm in." I told him. Roluck nodded gratefully at me, then turned to the rest of the group.

"Me and Enua will take the east point." He told them all. "Ilna, Barin, you have the west point. I know those Locusts have a little range on them, so Errahe, you and Henry take the central point."

"Copy." Errahe replied with a nod.

"We all have our assignments." He said, looking around at us. "Now let's go make sure that this colony has some badass stories to tell tomorrow. Move out!"

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst_**  
**_Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**


	41. Chapter 41

I watched the four teams take off, leaving me with Lia'Vael in the center of the command post.

_Just us quarians. _I thought to myself, turning to the Kodiak. I forced the hatch for the passenger's seat open.

"Hey." I heard Henry say behind me. I turned to find him wringing his hands in an unusual show of anxiety. Errahe waited nearby and I saw Lia'Vael next to me, looking confused. "Be safe in that thing, alright?"

He almost seemed to glare at the Kodiak. For a moment, I couldn't see what the big issue was, until I remembered.

_Krylin._

She'd been killed in one of these and he'd nearly died on the same crash. He'd been a little on edge around shuttles ever since. I imagined that having me up on one, away from him, was going to drive him crazy. I was the slightest bit annoyed by his protectiveness, but I knew he just cared for me and didn't want to see me lying dead in a cockpit.

I lifted a hand and traced his jawline with a finger, smiling. It had the calming effect I'd hoped it would have.

"I'll be okay." I told him, "If I need a rescue, you'll be the first one I call."

"And I'll be the first one to arrive." He agreed, smiling bitterly.

I watched him go, not pretending I didn't feel a little anxiety, myself. This would be our first major battle since the Battle of the Citadel. I still remember how traumatic that had been for everyone involved.

I climbed up into the passenger's chair and Lia'Vael lifted off. I looked in the back to find that there was a new improvement that had been snuck into it, probably while the Alliance techs had been installing the War Room on our shore leave. There was a turret overlooking the left and right door, making this Kodiak more of a gunship than a transport.

"You ready for this?" I asked Lia.

"I survived the Nedelas Asteroid Fields." The young quarian replied, "I can survive this."

I didn't bother pointing out that she had no experience with battles on the ground. I was sure she'd figure it out quickly.

Lia'Vael tried not to draw too much attention to us, keeping low as we skimmed over the houses. The first situation we happened upon was in another plaza. Human husks had somehow infiltrated their defenses and were attacking a trio of militia, who were desperately holding the larger group of twenty at bay from behind buildings. Lia'Vael swooped in low and listed to the side. She was able to swing in on their flank and she depressed the trigger on the yoke, firing the cannons at the husks. The explosions tore through most of them, leaving the rest of the stunned husks for the militia.

"Get down there." I ordered Lia.

"Yes, Admiral."

As they finished off the husks, she landed the Kodiak. Clearly, the militia knew we wanted to get them on the ship, because they ran up and one of them opened the left hand door to find the turret staring him back.

"Woah!" He exclaimed, surprised. I turned around in my seat and glanced at the three men, who were quite obviously taken aback by the fact I wasn't human.

"Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance, STT Zeta." I introduced quickly. "Now get in. Somebody sit in the back and the other two take the guns, we've got some Reapers to kill."

"Y-yes ma'am." One of them said, climbing in. The other two followed his lead. I turned back to the controls and gave Lia'Vael a look. She took off immediately, keeping low.

"Ma'am-" One of the Marines started.

"Lena." I cut him off as we skimmed low to find the enemy massing around Henry's position. I tried not to worry as we started towards it, still staying low.

"Lena," He hedged, sounding uncertain, "Do you know what's attacking us?"

"Reapers." I answered.

"I knew it!" One of the militia troops at the turrets yelled, "I told you that was the same ship that attacked the Citadel a couple years back."

"Not the same one." I told him, "There are more. Lots more. On top of that, they have ground forces, now."

"Wh-" the one in the back started.

"No time." I told him, getting a look at the barricade. There were a few holes in it that were desperately being reinforced by the militia. I saw Henry and Errahe on an adjacent rooftop. Errahe was on his back, blood spreading from him as Henry tried to patch him up. The Reaper troops, sensing weakness, had massed there. A perfect opportunity to wipe out a group of them.

"Get ready!" I yelled to the gunners. They didn't respond, but I was sure they understood.

I opened the door to the passenger's seat, ready to fire if necessary. My Phalanx would be enough to keep the reapers at bay if they tried to attack the shuttle and I was a decent sharpshooter with it.

"-Need assistance." Henry's voice came over my comms unit, "I'm hit and still fighting. Errahe got tagged pretty hard and he's down. We're in danger of being overrun."

"Already on the way." I told him. We came in from the side and Lia'Vael started firing the small cannons for all she was worth. The rounds detonated on the ground and tore through their ranks. The militia on the barricades increased their fire, emboldened by my attack. The two gunners started to pour fire on the mob, which started to break and retreat. I told Lia'Vael to let them get away, more concerned with the defense of the barricade.

"You still breathing?" I asked Henry.

"Yeah." He replied, his voice sounding a little strained, "But I won't be running much. Took a round to the calf. One of those fucking turian husks blew one of Errahe's horns clean off."

"Is he dying?" Lia'Vael wondered. I felt my breath quicken and terror set in that the clever, funny little salarian might not make it back to the ship.

"I stopped the bleeding and put him out with some painkillers." Henry reported. Lia'Vael circled the Kodiak around at him and he waved to me, looking rather beat up and bloody. "He'll be fine."

"Holy shit!" One of the men behind me yelled, "Is that Staff Sergeant Gerrard from training?"

"Will you be fine?" I asked.

A pause.

"Long as I don't have to run." He finally answered. "I can still shoot, though."

"Not the answer I wanted." I muttered to myself. "We're swinging in to pick him up."

"Roger." He responded. Lia'Vael dipped in low, hovering just above the roof. I turned to my gunners.

"Open the door and take the salarian!"

The one on the left nodded and opened the door. The sound of rapid gunfire, too much of it, came filtering in. A sweating and bloody Henry limped to the door, holding Errahe's limp body in his arms. He hopped up to the side of the trasport and the two militia members grabbed Errahe and hoisted him to the floor. Henry gave me a brief look, a nod, then he was limping away, his right calf a mess of blood. He still held Angel, though, looking determined as ever. I considered picking him up for a moment, but the mission came first. Even for us.

"We're taking heavy fire at my position." Roluck suddenly announced.

"Errahe's down." I reported. "Still alive, but Henry had to sedate him to stop the bleeding. Human husks made a big push towards the center."

_At least, I hope he sedated him._ I thought to myself, _Instead of just knocking him out._

Roluck paused, then started spitting orders.

"Eryc, reinforce Henry's position." He commanded. "Lena, we've got a lot of...let's call the turians 'marauders', coming our way. They've got one of those big brutish bastards with them."

"On my way." I responded. I looked at our pilot. "Let's go."

She lifted off and I looked at the man in the back.

"You," I told him, "Reinforce whichever gun needs it the most."

"Yes, ma'am."

_Henry and Krieg really were good teachers_. I realized. Lia'Vael listed the Kodiak sideways and started to move towards Roluck's position. As we flew, I glanced up to find a lot more ships deep in the sky, probably in the upper atmosphere. They were pestering Vanguard, who was clearly having trouble tracking any of them. As I watched, they started to scatter in different directions and the Reaper followed.

The Mako went skidding through an intersection as my I opened my door and looped an arm around my seat to stabilize myself. He hefted his Avenger as we dove down into a block of the colony. Unlike Henry, who'd been facing open desert, Roluck's barricade was actually inside the colony, meaning there were a lot more marauders than husks.

I saw the big husk of the krogan, the...brute...of the group, starting to push down the street, nearly unaffected by the storm of gunfire on it. Roluck was on the barricade, while Enua was on the rooftop of the building next to it, her Mantis in hand. I watched her drill a round into a marauder that peeked around the corner as we neared.

"Take care of the ranged enemies!" I yelled, coming in almost at street level as I swooped over the barricade, "Lia, take the brute!"

The men in the turrets focused their fire wherever they could as Lia'Vael rushed towards the brute, who braced himself for impact with me. She got as close as she was comfortable and started firing on the surrounding marauders, cool sweat forming on the brow inside my visor. Lia'Vael pushed down on the triggers, launching the cannon into the brute at nearly point blank. With a roar, it toppled to the ground on its back, allowing us to pass over it.

"Nice shot!" Roluck praised. "Now j-"

His transmission was cut off by an explosion and panicked yelling. Lia'Vael turned the shuttle around and I was confused by the sight that met me. Half of the barricade had been blown away.

"Who the hell put an ammo cache there!?" Roluck thundered, clearly not talking to me. "Enua, you alright?"

"I got burned up here pretty bad, boss." came a pained reply.

"Yeah," Roluck muttered, "I took shrapnel to my non-firing hand. It looks like shit, right now."

I saw Roluck yelling at the men at the barricade and pointing at the hole.

"You two still in the fight?" I wondered.

"We'll survive." Roluck assured me. I saw him try to heft his rifle and curse, his hand too mangled and bloody to do anything. "Dammit...maybe not. Henry, how are you doing over there?"

"They've backed off for the moment."

"We need the Mako."

"On my way." Krieg growled. "You better not get yourself killed before I get over there, you mangy bird."

Roluck released a tired laugh.

"Barin, Ilna, how goes it?" Roluck asked.

"Could use a little help." Barin replied, "I've got one of those shrieking things-"

"Banshee." Henry said, "Human folklore. They screech."

"That sounds about right." Barin huffed, annoyed. "Anyways, I got one of them crawling up my ass. Our men can't down it."

"On our way." I groaned.

_Just hopping from one spot to another._ My mind grumbled, _Can't get a break._

"We've got a Banshee out there." I told the men.

"One of those asari-looking things?" The co-pilot wondered, shuddering.

"Yeah." I told him as Lia'Vael jerked the Kodiak to the opposite end. I looked out to see the opposition dwindling. All we had to do was outlast them a bit longer.

Barin was at the barricade with a bunch of humans and asari that were, even from here, visibly uncomfortable with his presence. He had a clearing around him as he fired surprisingly accurate rounds at the incoming banshee. The grey, mottled thing shrieked, its dark eyes glaring down the barricade and walking towards it as if not bothered by the gunfire in the least. It pulled its hand back and suddenly made a backhanded motion. A massive crackling blue ball of biotics floated towards the barricade, aimed at a human with a shotgun. Barin yelled something, then dashed towards the man. He shoved him off the barricade and ducked as the biotic ball just missed him.

I noticed Ilna, then. She was taking very well-aimed and well-measured shots against everything around the banshee. She was touting an Incisor sniper rifle. It was a new, cutting edge sniper rifle that fired quick, three round bursts instead of a single shot.

I fired at a husk and dropped it as Lia'Vael sped toward the banshee. It saw us incoming and threw another one of those biotic balls at the Kodiak. Lia'Vael swerved out of the way, nearly throwing me out of the door as I fired at the banshee. The banshee hunched over and for a moment, as we closed, I thought we'd finished it.

There was a sudden blast that threw the Kodiak sideways. I felt myself nearly weightless as I found myself in mid-air. I shouted in panic, but was able to keep my arm looped around the rail.

"Admiral!" Lia'Vael yelled, the young quarian's eyes wide.

"I'm alright." I told her, pulling myself back into the seat

"That was close." Barin said, "Watch out, that thing can spread around a mass effect field."

"I noticed." I grunted. Lia'Vael spun the Kodiak around and started firing again. This time, the cannons tore through the mass effect barriers the banshee was touting and removed its head.

There was the sudden scream of engines as Alliance gunships suddenly blasted over the barricades, tearing into the enemies. There were dozens of the gunships, all of them spread out amongst the perimeter, pressing in on the Reaper forces. Without air support, they were as good as dead. I spun the Kodiak around again to see a platoon of Marines reinforce Barin's barricade, while another slipped through and began clearing the houses and streets.

"The cavalry's here!" Our pilot shouted excitedly. I looked at her and smiled as Roluck's voice sounded in my helmet.

"We're being relieved." Roluck groaned, "Everyone back to the command post."

"Thank God." One of the gunners said, watching the Alliance Marines put down a marauder.

"You did a really good job, Lia'Vael." I said, looking at the young woman.

"Thank you, Admiral." She replied, her body language informing me that she was slightly proud of herself.

_As she should be._

We slowly skimmed over the buildings until we reached the command post, where Lia'Vael easily set the Kodiak down. As I opened the door, I was met by Captain Kheyes and an Alliance Lieutenant Colonel in full combat armor.

"Lieutenant Colonel Alexander." The man supplied, holding out a hand. I shook it, preferring to be civil with the man whose troops probably just saved us all from a lot more casualties."You from Zeta?"

"Yes." I replied, climbing into the bay to check on Errahe. The salarian was breathing fine, but there was a nasty-looking stump where his right horn had been. He would certainly be feeling that one when he woke up. "Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance, Special Tasks Team Zeta."

"I heard you guys pretty much single-handedly saved Asteria, ma'am." He said, "Your team certainly has the Alliance's thanks."

"That's good." I replied, not really in the mood for the back-slapping, "I have a wounded salarian on board, do you happen to have any surgeons with you?"

"We do." Captain Kheyes answered before the Lieutenant Colonel could jump in, "Over there with the medics. They'll get him prepped for surgery if it's bad enough, then move him to a secured medical facility once the fighting dies down."

I groaned inwardly.

_We're stuck on this scorcher of a planet for another day._ I moaned to myself, _Then again, if we save Errahe, it's worth it._

"Thank you." I said, grabbing Errahe, some of his blood rubbing off on my suit. Lia'Vael joined me and together, we tugged him off the transport.

"Let me help you, ladies." the Lieutenant Colonel said. He grabbed Errahe's lower body while we supported the upper half of him. I was surprised to see such a high-ranking officer willing to grab a wounded man.

"Not afraid to get dirty, LTC?" I wondered as we started carrying Errahe to the bigger, government-looking building I'd noticed earlier.

"If it weren't for you all," He said, "We'd have a dead colony to clean up. I don't know what these things are, but you certainly saved these people from them."

I went quiet, lost in concern for Errahe as we entered the building. Lia'Vael appeared to be equally pensive.

There was a reception area, being manned by a guard. Some of those with less than grievous injury were sitting in chairs, letting whatever was wrong with them heal. The guard took one look at Errahe and pointed to a door on our left.

"Surgery prep." Was all he said. I gave the man an appreciative nod as the four of us moved into the room.

It was bad in here. I'd seen a couple of hospitals with wounded before, but never something so hastily-constructed. Desks had been cleared off and were being used as operation tables as wounds were scrubbed and prepared for surgery. Blood covered the floor as asari and human medics darted around the room, yelling orders to nauseous-looking staff. I imagined the staff had been government workers who'd volunteered or been volunteered when the attack hit.

"Who's that?" A passing asari doctor asked.

"Errahe, STT Zeta." I answered. "I was told to bring him here."

The asari nodded and looked around. She waved me over to a cluttered desk and she swept all of the papers off before tossing the terminal off the desk, as well. I raised an eyebrow as we set Errahe down on the desk.

_These medics certainly don't stand on protocol._ I thought to myself, impressed by the clear attitude.

"We'll do what we can." She told me, looking him over as I set him down. "He looks like he'll be alright, but we may have to take off more of the horn if it was infected, which it probably was. We'll scrub the wound, look for infection and get back to you. Please wait outside. You should be easy enough for us to find."

"Thank you." I replied, turning to the door and walking out. I stopped in the hallway, holding out a hand to the quarian girl next to me.

"Are you alright?" I asked Lia'Vael, turning to her.

"Of course." She said, but her body told me differently. She looked stressed and a little shocked. "I didn't get hit."

"Not that." I replied. "The death, the blood...are you alright?"

"It's...a bit overwhelming." She admitted. "You're used to it?"

"The blood and the killing, yes." I told her. "Friends getting hurt is something I don't think I'll ever get used to. But you did an excellent job, Lia. You should be proud."

"Thank you, Ad-"

"Just Lena." I told her quietly.

"Lena." She finished, her body language showing thanks.

When weI made it outside, I saw the Mako pull up next to the Kodiak. The hatch was thrown open and Eryc pulled himself out, followed closely by Krieg.

When Krieg jumped off the Mako, there was some nervous fidgeting from the Alliance soldiers in the area. The militia didn't seem to care. Krieg ignored them all, striding towards us with a grin on his face.

"One hell of a fight!" He thundered. "Too bad I couldn't be on top of the Mako again, but I guess I can't win them all. I heard about Errahe. Is the little pyjack alright?"

"He should be okay." I told Krieg as Eryc walked up and joined us, the hulking human looking surprisingly in place next to Krieg. "He's not the only injured we got."

"Who else got hit?" Eryc wondered.

"I might've gotten a scratch." Came a flanged voice from our left. I looked to find Roluck and Enua walking towards us.

Enua had what looked like a severe burn on the right side of her neck. It seemed to only be surface damage, but Enua looked mildly distressed. Roluck's hand was far worse. I looked down to see that his hand had been shredded when the ammo had gone off. One of his fingers was nearly hanging off and a chunk was missing out of the side of it. One finger was gone completely.

"Holy shit." Eryc said, looking at Roluck's hand.

"And you still have that turian apathy about you." Krieg grunted, making Roluck smile wearily. "You might want to get that hand checked out."

"I'll admit myself into surgery when the rest of the team gets here." Roluck disagreed. I was impressed by the commitment, regardless of how foolhardy it was. "Enua, you want to get that burn looked at?"

"It's superficial." She shrugged. I could tell from the grimace that snuck onto her face that she immediately regretted the action. "It shouldn't get infected in the next few minutes. I'll go in when you do, boss."

I tried not to notice that she addressed him with the same exact term that Allison used.

"Ah, Henry." Roluck said, glancing behind me.

I spun to see Henry limping up, a helpful Corporal assisting him in keeping the weight off his right leg. Henry shot a small smile at me and I nodded back, elated that he'd come back more or less undamaged since I'd last saw him.

"Yeah." He replied. "I took a hit to the calf. Damn marauders."

"They were surprisingly accurate." Roluck agreed. Then he looked at me. "Errahe is in surgery, right?"

"He's being prepared for it." I told Roluck, "They might have to take a little more of his horn if it got infected."

"Shit." Roluck muttered. "Hey Barin! Over here!"

Barin and Ilna had just arrived through another gate. The Alliance soldiers weren't even trying to hide their discomfort at Barin's presence, but he managed to ignore them. He was making progress. Both of them glanced at us and walked over.

"And Lia'Vael." Roluck said, looking at the quarian girl at my side. "Damn good job out there. I know we intended to get you on some easier ones first, but you certainly surpassed my expectations."

Lia made to say something, but was interrupted by Ilna.

"Jesus." Ilna muttered, looking at Roluck's hand. "You want to get that looked at, maybe?"

"In a minute." Roluck said, "I jus-"

He suddenly went quiet, looking over Krieg's shoulder. I turned to see that Alliance Admiral from the Citadel, Hackett, approaching. The tall human had his icy gaze fixed our way.

"Sir." Eryc said, surprising me when he snapped off a salute. Henry gave the Admiral a weary salute with his free hand. The Corporal escorting him gave Admiral Hackett a salute, as well, unwittingly letting go of Henry. He tried to stand but collapsed on his butt instead. Despite his injury, I almost giggled again.

"Ah shit." He grunted, looking up at the Corporal. "I'm-I'm good here, thanks Corporal."

"Thank you, sir." the Corporal replied, walking away. The grim Admiral watched the Corporal retreat before looking back at all of us.

"I'm surprised to see you here, sir." Roluck told him, "I thought you'd be with your fleet."

"I have them making a lot of complicated maneuvers that will end with them being back at the Arcturus station." He responded. "My Vice Admiral will take care of them and Vanguard wouldn't dare attack Arcturus station. A group of Reapers could take it out, but not one. I'm more concerned about the ground effort. I heard there was a casualty?"

"Not a casualty." I replied, staring into the man's ice-colored eyes as he turned his attention to me, "Staff Sergeant Trenel, our STG op, took a pretty serious wound, but we got him patched up in time before he bled out."

"Good to hear." Admiral Hackett said, looking around at us. "I'm not one to mince words, but you all are a bunch of heroes, today. This colony could've very well have fallen without your support. And then we would've been facing the opening moves of a war that we don't need right now, not with the Reapers coming."

He smirked, clearly catching onto something.

"Though I couldn't help but notice that these colonists seemed to be holding their own better than I would've figured."

"They were trained by the Lieutenant and Krieg, sir." Eryc supplied unhelpfully.

"I know." Admiral Hackett said, "I'm the one who's been coordinating with Councilor Anderson to ensure these militias get spread out as evenly as we can get them. I can't say much more, but you all did a great job. I know General Tulious has another mission for you, but I understand it's of a more diplomatic nature. So spend a day or two here and get rested up. Meanwhile, we'll be bringing back some of these Reaper ground troops to figure out what we're dealing with."

"Yes, sir." Roluck replied. The Admiral eyed his hand with clear concern. Then he looked at the extensive burn on Elura's neck and finally, the bloody mess that was Henry's calf.

"Now report to medical, all of you." He ordered, his grinding voice making it clear that there would be no arguing. "Even if you're not injured."

"Yes, sir." Roluck answered.

_Keelah._ I thought to myself. _I barely know this human and he's displayed more about commanding people than I learned from the Admirals in two years._

Admiral Hackett turned and was going to walk back to his ship, when he stopped. For the first time, he seemed a little uncertain. Then he turned back to Henry and a smile passed over his scarred face.

"You keep up like this, Lieutenant." Admiral Hackett said, "And your father might just be a sidenote in your biography in the Alliance history archives."

I felt a grin tug at the corners of my mouth. I knew that Henry loved his father, but was tired of being overshadowed by his father's rather impressive reputation. To most, this would be a rather cold comment. To Henry, this was truly a compliment.

The smile that appeared on Henry's face was one of the most honest I'd seen directed at someone who wasn't me or Roluck.

"Thank you, Admiral." Henry said. Hackett nodded to him and then started to his ship again.

"Allison, you did a great job." Roluck praised quietly through his comms, "We've got a few injured down here...me included. You might want to find somewhere to land, we're stuck for now."

"Affirmative." Allison replied. "Are you okay?"

I noted the concern in the pilot's voice.

_Roluck is too thick._ I observed.

Roluck, for his part, lifted the remnants of his hand in front of his face, inspecting it coolly.

"Well." He replied, "I certainly won't be arm-wrestling Krieg anytime soon."

"Ha!" Krieg thundered.

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst_**  
**_Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**


	42. Chapter 42

I sat in the waiting room, six hours later, trying to go back to sleep. I'd managed to get some sleep on the Vengeance directly after Roluck and Henry had been admitted to the makeshift hospital. Now I was back and wasn't surprised to learn that Henry would be fine, he just had to take it very easy for the next three days. He had been put under and would be sleeping for the next thirty minutes.

Errahe had gotten lucky. Henry and I had managed to get him out from the planet's elements before the stump had become infected. There were still a few nerve endings that the surgeons woould be taking care of before they let him out of the hospital.

Roluck, on the other hand...he was going to be under extensive care for the next three days. He had demanded to be allowed back on the ship by noon tomorrow. He'd told the surgeons to do whatever it took to have him ready to go by tomorrow afternoon. Then Doctor Aline had come down and scolded the turian, much to Krieg's delight. Then she'd told the surgeons that she'd be able to handle his vaccines and examinations after they did the surgery.

Apparently, there were going to be some extensive cybernetics going into his hand. The surgeons had enough on hand to make it work, but I was surprised by just how much they intended to use. Roluck had been cavalier about it, but I knew it bothered him more than he would admit.

Enua had gotten a shrug and been handed a large swathe of gauze, being told to 'Cover the burn up and keep it dry'. She hadn't been offended, clearly not pleased with being forced to go to the hospital by Roluck.

"But still," She had said, "When a man missing half of his hand tells you to go to the hospital, you go to the hospital."

We'd been getting visitors in and out all day. All of them were the militia checking on Henry and Krieg or the colonists coming by to thank us in person. I appreciated the gesture, but not the attention.

"Admiral Zuril?" The same asari I'd handed Errahe to earlier called, hanging out of the door. "Staff Sergeant Trenel's requesting you, before he goes into surgery."

"Alright." I said. I'd been waiting on Henry to wake up, but I supposed I could visit Errahe before my thirty minutes was up. I pushed myself off of the chair and walked into the prep room. Errahe was awake, glancing around with his green eyes. His eyes landed on me and he allowed himself a small smile. I was glad his face wasn't covered in blood anymore, it had made him painful just to look at.

I suddenly realized that, in the aftermath of the battle, I hadn't cleaned the blood off of my sit. I looked down to find it still there, crusted brown. I felt my stomach turn a little, but decided there were bigger things at stake right now.

"Lena." He said, "Glad you're here. Wanted to thank you for swift action. Also, make request."

"Of course." I told him, walking up and grabbing him by the hand. It felt like the appropriate thing to do, at the moment. "What do you need?"

"Would like you to be there for surgery." He said, his face uncharacteristically serious. "In case it goes...what's that phrase Krieg uses...quads up."

I laughed, feeling the tension ease from me. I had no idea how Errahe could make me laugh and put me at ease while begging me to be at his surgery in case he died.

"Lots of nerves, lots of links to brain." Errahe continued.

_Is he...scared?_ I wondered, sensing the seriousness and the hesitant humor.

"Afraid I'll wake up different or not wake up at all." He finished.

"I'm not one for surgeries." I confided, "But I'll be there. If it's alright with the doctor."

I looked up at the asari, who smiled warmly.

"I doubt a quarian is going to be bringing a myriad of diseases into a surgery, though I would advise you wear something over the suit, it's got blood on it." She said, "There are chairs on the wall in there, you can keep an eye out."

"Thank you, Lena." Errahe said, just before the doctor pushed a syringe into his neck and pushed the plunger. Within seconds, Errahe's eyes closed and his hand went limp. I gently placed it on the desk and look at the doctor.

"I'll show you to the room." She told me. We entered an elevator and she hit the button for us to go up.

"I want to thank you and yours for what they did." She said.

"Don't kid yourselves," I chuckled, "We got lucky finding you. That Reaper that attacked you is trying to start a war out here and we're trying to keep it busy."

"Whatever the reasons," the doctor said, "You all sacrificed a lot to keep us alive. That's a debt we'll never be able to repay."

I was getting a little tired of all the praise, to be completely honest. I was glad we were being appreciated, but I didn't enjoy being thanked every time I turned around.

"No need to repay it." I told her. "This was merely a delay. There's a very good chance the entire galaxy will be fighting that battle. Soon."

The doctor gazed at me. To see if I was joking, I supposed. Apparently, she didn't like whatever answer my body gave her, because she turned back to the door and went silent just before it opened.

There were all kinds of 'booths' set up that clearly used to be large cubicles. The windows had been covered, casting the room into a dark haze. I heard quiet murmuring all around as surgeons talked over their patients. The asari led me to the small room where there was only an operating table set up wit has couple of chairs haphazardly stacked in the corner. I grabbed one of the chairs and took a seat as the unconcious Errahe was wheeled in.

A pair of humans gently lowered Errahe down onto the operating table and got right down to work. I had to turn my head. I'd dealt with wounds on the battlefield plenty of times, but it didn't mean I enjoyed watching the salarian being cut open. Still, I remained in my seat.

After about ten minutes through the surgery, the door opened and Henry edged in. He limped over to the corner of the room with a crutch in one hand, grabbed the remaining chair and sat down next to me. Unlike me, he didn't seem to be too unnerved by the sight of Errahe getting cut open. He stared down the doctors and sighed.

"These are only the opening shots of this war." He muttered, clearly uncomfortable, "And look how badly we've been hit."

I looked at him, surprised by the sudden negativity.

_Then again,_ I thought to myself,_ He just got shot. I'd probably be a little negative, too._

"Vanguard's not as big as Sovereign and has less resources at its disposal." He explained quietly. "Makes you wonder what it's gonna be like when the Reapers finally do show up."

I was quiet, having wondered much the same myself. This Vanguard was, more than likely, a less important Reaper. Yet it had nearly decimated this colony, which would've led to an all out war in the Terminus systems. What would happen when all of the Reapers showed up?

_Probably something I shouldn't waste time thinking about._ I reasoned.

"We've got to take it one battle at a time." I told Henry, "We can't worry about what happens when the Reapers show up, because there's nothing we cna do about it. All we can do is help the galaxy prepare."

Henry leaned back in his seat. He stared at Errahe for a while before looking at me.

"You keep me sane, you know that?" He informed with a smirk.

"I don't think so." I told him, unable to resist a smile, even in here, "I like to think I keep you in line."

"Ha." Ilna muttered, walking in with Enua. Enua still had the gauze and bandage attached to her neck. The bandage had been slightly discolored, much to my disgust. "That's a laugh."

"What're you two doing here?" Henry asked, looking up at them.

"Thought I'd check up on everyone here." Ilna replied. "Enua wanted to join me. How's your leg, Henry?"

"I'll be fine." He said, "Just have to take it easy for a few days. Where's everyone else?"

"Krieg and Eryc are out amongst the militia, speaking with them." Ilna said, a wisp of a smile dancing across her face. "The militia seems pretty enthused that you and Krieg are here. They send their regards, by the way."

"Thanks." Henry muttered.

"Barin...hasn't exactly gotten the warmest welcome." Enua said, "I managed to get him out and around the Alliance troops, maybe win some hearts and minds. He's still out there, trying his best to foster some sort of positive feelings between him and everyone else."

"Good to hear." I said, meaning it.

"Seeing this..." Ilna said quietly, dread in her voice, "I hadn't believed it, but there was another one of those...things. Up in the sky."

"Yeah." Henry replied, "There's a lot more where Vanguard came from, too."

"How do you think it will go when the Reapers show up?" Enua asked Henry, all pretense of intimidation and arrogance gone. She didn't look scared, but she did look anxious.

Henry sighed and looked on at the unconscious Errahe before answering.

"The batarians," He started, "by all accounts, are probably going to have it the worst of any species when the Reapers showed up. They are formidable in their own right, but they have no support and may have nowhere to retreat. The krogan are starting to unite under the Urdnot banner. They'll put up one vicious ground war. Without space-faring vessels, though, it'll be a war of attrition, which the Reapers will win. The Alliance Fourth and Fifth fleets are ready to pull them off world, if need be."

He looked at Enua before continuing and I felt a knot of anxiety building, myself. There was nothing inaccurate about the logic which his predictions were founded upon.

"The asari and salarians will be completely blown away." He continued. "Both of them pride themselves in their skills at sabotage and intelligence. Neither of which is useful against the Reapers. The turians will hold for a while, both naval and on the ground. Without Council support, though, they'll eventually be overwhelmed."

He gave me a glance and I could see a grim countenance settling behind his eyes.

"The quarians are elusive." He said, "Even if a Reaper stumbles into the Flotilla, they have enough ships to overpower it and leave before its friends arrive. But they can't hide forever. They will have to contribute to the war effort to survive."

"And I intend to see that we do." I told him honestly. Then again, I only had control of the ground forces. The Flotilla's real power was in its naval force of fifty thousand ships, almost all of them armed and combat-ready.

"The vorcha are...well...the vorcha." Henry continued. "They won't be as devastating in combat as the krogan, but they'll be even harder to wipe out. Poisoning them is impossible and they're too despondent to care about brutal intimidation tactics. They'll go down eventually, though. The Drell and Hanar will probably keep the Reapers grounded for quite some time, but I doubt they'll make any real progress. The Elcor, same thing. The volus don't really have a big military, so they'll probably just pack up and head for the Citadel."

I sat back, digesting all of that.

_He left a species out._ I suddenly realized.

"And your people?" I asked, the question I'd wanted to ask since he started listing off every race out there. Henry stared at Errahe again, thinking before he answered his question.

"I think humanity is going to take the brunt of it." He said, "After the business with Sovereign and Shepard and now all of these colonies that have come up missing...we as a species have probably pissed the Reapers off. I think we'll be annihilated without support. Which, knowing the Council as we do, we probably won't get."

I pondered how he was able to talk about it so casually, like it wasn't even his own people he was referring to.

"The only wild card here is the geth." He finished, surprising me. I hadn't even really thought of them, which was unusual for a quarian.

_Maybe I've spent too much time around STT Zeta._ I thought to myself. At least I was still performing my duties. Just this morning, I'd rotated another group of marines into the training program Henry had set up.

"The geth?" Enua asked, surprised.

"Yeah." Henry said, "After Sovereign, I sincerely doubt the geth are going to go unnoticed when the Reapers come. Exactly whose side will they be on, if any?"

The room had fallen silent. I realized after a moment that the two surgeons had stopped operating on Errahe for a moment, both of them staring up at Henry, enraptured by his predictions.

"Do you think we'll survive?" One of them asked. Henry grinned at them, an honest grin to all of those who didn't know better.

"As long as we're all willing to work together." He answered, then his brow furrowed. "Don't stop on our account."

"We're already done." The surgeons told him, "He should be awake in four or five hours."

"Ah, good." Henry said, as he got a sudden ping on his omni-tool. "Just in time, too. It seems that Admiral Hackett wants to speak to all of us."

"He's back at the Citadel, right?" Ilna asked.

"Yeah." Henry replied as he stood. He pressed his hand to his ear. "Barin, Krieg, Eryc, back to the ship. We've got an update."

He grabbed his crutch and started limping out. The rest of us followed him as he moved to the exit of the hospital. I rushed ahead to hold the door open, not sure if he'd be able to open it in his state. He nodded his thanks to me.

As we walked to the ship, we were greeted fondly by everyone, be they militia or civilians. I had quite a few people acknowledge me with "Admiral", to my surprise.

The ship was buzzing with activity when we got there. With this downtime, the crew had gotten together and decided it'd be in everyone's best interest to spend the time working through the ship's systems for any improvements they could. When we walked into the shuttle bay, Allison was waiting on us.

"Henry." She acknowledged, looking him up and down. "Christ, are you gonna be okay?"

It dawned on me that she hadn't even seen us since she landed.

_She must be so worried._ I thought, amused. _Mostly about Roluck, I bet._

"Yeah." He answered, "Should be walking by tomorrow."

"How bad is Roluck's hand?" Allison asked.

"He's missing a finger, one's almost completely detatched and he's missing a good portion of his palm."

"Shit." Allison muttered.

"That about sums it up." Henry agreed, "We gotta head up to the war room. Apparently, Admiral Hackett is waiting for us."

"Don't let me stop you." She answered, grinning.

"And you did an excellent job with Vanguard, yesterday." Henry complimented. "Keep it up."

"Thank you, Henry." She replied. Henry and the group headed for the elevator, but I stayed behind. When they all got in, Henry yelled,

"We gotta get up there, Lena!"

"We have a minute." I told him, "We've still got to wait for the rest."

"Fair enough." He muttered as the doors closed. Allison looked at me, eyebrow raised. Apparently, she was curious about what I wanted to ask.

"Vanguard's capabilities." I started. "What were they like?"

Allison shook her head sadly.

"Fast, for a starship. Very powerful." She remembered, "If that's one of the smaller ships, I hate to see what the bigger ones can do. An average dreadnought wouldn't have a chance against Vanguard. It almost caught me, a couple of times. And good thing we had Anna here to fight off his hacking attempts."

"I aim to please." Anna sounded out over the shuttle bay.

"Well, you did a good job." I told her, clapping her on the shoulder like I'd seen Henry do dozens of times. "I've got to go see what's going on upstairs."

"Alright." She said, "Have fun."

_I sincerely doubt I will._ I grumbled to myself. Krieg and Eryc showed up and joined me in the elevator.

"Lena." Krieg grunted.

"Krieg."

"Lena." Eryc greeted, unable to keep the smirk off his face.

"Eryc." I replied, the smile spreading to my own face.

"Krieg." Eryc continued as the doors shut.

"Asshole." Krieg finished. Eryc chuckled as the elevator started to rise.

The War Room was ready and I could already see the form of Admiral Hackett on the terminal in the center. Lia'Vael looked exhausted, if her body language was any indication. I made a note to make sure she got back to sleep when ths was over and got enough sleep. She'd earned it.

"-in touch with him on the SSV Finland." Admiral Hackett was telling an attentive Henry. "I know you don't have the time, but I sent him a message and told him what you did and that you were fine."

"I appreciate it, sir." He said, "Isn't that usually Councilor Anderson's job?"

As Barin walked in, Admiral Hackett shifted uneasily.

"Councilor Anderson is now Admiral Anderson." Hackett told us all. "He's stepped down from the Councilor position and given in back to Udina."

"Shit." Eryc cursed. Admiral Hackett directed him a stern gaze. "Sorry, sir."

"We're all here, Admiral." Henry said, "I'm the XO of this group, so I'll take whatever news you have."

"Well," Admiral Hackett said, "Vanguard was chasing the SSV Miami, but the Miami hit the Relay for the Arcturus Station and the Reaper broke off the chase, unwilling to contend with the entire Arcturus Station and Fifth Fleet. Everyone's safe."

"That's good to hear." Henry replied, smiling. "Did anyone get video of Vanguard while we were out there."

I watched Admiral Hackett's form shift from 'uneasy' to 'angry'. It was an anger that wasn't directed at us.

"We did." He answered. "I contacted Udina and we both showed it to the Council."

"Let me guess." I said, feeling as though I already knew where this was headed, "They're not interested."

"Partially." Admiral Hackett said. "Udina's taking this seriously enough, though there's not much he can do but divert more builders towards our project on your little asteroid cannon over Allera."

I felt rage, not for the first time, towards the Council and their inaction.

_We've done so much for those people._ I quietly simmered,_ And for what?_

"Curiously enough, Councilor Sparatus also seems a little bit...concerned." Admiral Hackett said.

"The turian Councilor?" Enua asked, her surprise reflecting the feelings of everyone in the room. I'd met the council once. The turian Councilor had far and away been the biggest bosh'tet of them all. "He's usually the most stubborn son of a bitch of the three."

"Apparently," Hackett said, "Somebody's kicking a hornet's nest on Palaven about the Reapers. Enough that even their Primarch has devoted a few resources to the issue. They're not taking it quite as seriously as they should, but between that and the vids we managed to scrounge up from the battle on and over Asteria, I think Sparatus is worried that this might actually be genuine."

"Not that he'll actually do anything about it." Henry muttered. I noticed everyone nodding their heads, their thoughts about the same. Mine certainly were.

"That's beyond STT Zeta, for now." Admiral Hackett said, "Your next mission is to Parasc."

"Parasc?" Krieg muttered, clearly surprised. "The Vorcha?"

"There's rumors of a Vorcha clan there." Admiral Hackett said. "They've started drawing in other clans from Heshtok, the Vorcha homeworld."

"What, exactly, are they doing, sir?" I asked.

"They're organizing." Admiral Hackett said with a rare smile. "A government, to be exact. It's a Parliament system and quite disorganized, but they have a diplomat and seem to be trying to make it work."

"Goddess..." Enua muttered, "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Even better," Admiral Hackett said, "They've started building a fleet out of the resources the other clans have brought."

"How many of them are there?" I asked.

"Ten million or so." He answered with a shrug.

I was impressed. That was the start of a serious government, for the Vorcha.

"So you want us to meet with them?" Henry asked. "Secure an alliance?"

"Officially, given the rather inflexible way of the Council, you cannot make an alliance between the clan and Zeta. Councilor Udina, however, is willing to start sending resources their way. When this war comes, we'll solidify the Alliance and evacuate them and their fleet."

"And we'll represent the Council." Henry finished. "Instead of representing ourselves."

"Correct." Admiral Hackett said, "So when your people are out of the hospital, head there immediately. The asteroid over Allera is about forty percent completed, so we should be on track to take down Vanguard within the next month."

"Roger that, sir." Henry said.

"Don't worry about the Council." Admiral Hackett said, "That's for Udina and I to worry about. You all just keep doing what you've been doing and we'll be ready."

"Yes, sir." Henry said.

"Lastly." Hackett said, "It seems like we may be making headway on the front of warp drives. The research we've funded looks promising and they might have a prototype out in four months. We're keeping it secret, but we're pressing them to hurry. We need to start getting ready to siphon people away."

_Good. _I thought to myself, _At least that seems to be going well._

"Hackett out." The Admiral said, before the connection was terminated.

There was silence around the room, then:

"Udina." Eryc muttered. "Shit."

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	43. Chapter 43

"This may be a mistake." Krieg grumbled for the millionth time as we rode the shuttle down to Parasc. From orbit, I'd noted that we were headed for yet another desert planet. "Vorcha aren't known for getting organized and establishing a government."

I tried not to groan aloud. Roluck had decided that the vorcha needed to see our strongest and our best. As such, only Krieg, Eryc, Barin, Ilna and I were headed down to the surface, with Lia'Vael piloting.

_Almost half our team injured in that last mission._I thought to myself.

Roluck had been a little loopy from the injections, but I'd appreciated the sentiment. If the vorcha saw a bunch of beat up commandos, it might send the message of inexperienced fighters. So he wanted to send the healthiest of us.

"Plus," He'd told me, right before putting me in charge of this mission, "It'll look really good to have a non-Council species in charge of the group."

It was weird, being in charge of the team. Not that I wasn't used to being in charge of a unit, but as old as Krieg was, it felt like he should be in charge.

Roluck was also calling the Council into session so that they could be prepared for whatever we ended up sending their way in terms of requests from the vorcha.

Allison had left the Vengeance drifting in orbit, in case we needed to be pulled out quickly. I doubted that it'd be a concern, but it never hurt to be careful. Henry and Roluck were putting their heads together for a project. Roluck, in his delirious state, had mentioned something about 'Readjusting squad priorities for the upcoming war'.

I imagined that meant Henry would now be working on weapons to improve our flexibility. I noticed that our main flaw in the fight on Asteria was we were too tightly stuck to very general roles. We had no specifics beyond long range, short range and medium range.

I fervently hoped I wasn't the tech expert. Ilna would be much better suited for that job, seeing as she had a Tactical Cloak, sniper rifle...and could hack everything within a one-mile radius. I'd be more suited towards assault. Shotguns and grenades were my specialty. I just happened to be as good as the average quarian at hacking and tech work.

I turned my attention to the issue at hand: Krieg. He wasn't going to be a problem, but I didn't need him bringing bigotry to the table if we were going to be negotiating with these vorcha. As I understood it, krogans had a lot of contact with the vorcha, constantly using them as mercenaries. According to Krieg, the vorcha excelled at it. They could adapt to pretty much any environment.

"Krogan aren't known for getting organized or establishing a government, either." I pointed out, uncomfortably shifting. I was wedged in tight between Eryc and the turret. There was just enough room for Krieg and Barin across from us, while Ilna was up in the passenger's seat. I got the distinct impression that Eryc wasn't as uncomfortable with this arrangement as I was, which bothered me more than a little bit. It was very dark in here, so dark that I could only see outlines in the packed shuttle.

Krieg eyed me at the response and nodded slowly.

"True." He admitted. "So here's the crash course on vorcha for you all: Life span of twenty years average. They have-"

"Scoot over." I ordered Eryc, completely interrupting Krieg. Eryc's body language told me he was amused as he pressed himself up on his side a little more to give me a bit of room.

"They have some regenerative abilities," Kreig continued, directing an approving grin my way, "though not as much as we do. Their bodies' ability to adapt to their surroundings, however, is unparalleled. While genetically more or less the same, vorcha come in many different sizes and shapes, depending on the environment they live in. Typically non-verbal, they use combat to communicate."

"How does that work?" I wondered.

"Exactly how I said it." He grunted. "They fight as a means of communication. Though I doubt they'll try the same with us. If they mean to negotiate with us, chances are very good that they'll be going with your average verbal communication. They'll probably have another one of their people on standby who knows body language to help whoever's speaking with us."

"Great." I muttered.

"Don't worry." Krieg assured me, much to my surprise. "They'll appreciate a team being led by someone who isn't of a Council Species. It might've been dangerous to bring me, though. While a krogan is a little more familiar to the vorcha, we are also a reminder of their tendency to join up with the Bood Pack or get involved with our politics. Quite honestly, if they wanna do this thing, they need to keep themselves separate of us or deal with Wrex and nobody else."

_I'll never cease to be amazed by him._ I thought to myself. _He's so progressive, for his species. He's a lot like Barin, though I don't think either of them realize it._

I looked at Barin, who sat next to Krieg. He was nodding slowly, clearly impressed by the older krogan.

_Or maybe Barin does realize it._I hedged. I couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable Eryc was, now that he was seated directly across from Barin.

Eryc's really gonna have to learn to overcome that slavery issue he's projecting on Barin. I reflected. Bad blood may very well be the downfall of us all in this war.

"I've got the colony in sight..." Ilna reported from up front, then trailed off. "Or more like...ruins..."

I pushed off my seat and approached the cockpit to see what they were talking about. The sight that met my eyes was incredible.

The city in the darkness before us seemed to have been built entirely out of scrap metal. It wasn't like an organized city, where the lights had patterns and the construction made sense. It was just pandemonium. There were houses sitting next to skyscrapers and even a spaceport right next to what probably approximated an apartment building.

"We have clearance to land." Ilna said, looking at a small screen of instructions, "Not quite sure where, th-oh, there we go."

A set of coordinates had been sent to the shuttle's computer and Ilna began to guide us towards a shabby-looking landing pad.

"Damn." Barin muttered, "These guys are like your people, Lena. Except what your people do with ships, they do with buildings."

I had to admit that she had a point. Every single one of these buildings looked unsteady and looked as though they'd been constructed by whatever had been lying around at the time.

"At least it's a city." Krieg grunted, "They usually don't have more than giant groups of hovels. These vorcha might just be trying to give this a go."

I tried to envision only living to twenty years and failed miserably. Chances were, I would've died four years ago.

_Well,_ I conceded privately, _it's not like you've got a high life expectancy right now, anyways._

True enough.

We touched down with a small jolt and I opened the doors on my side. I was surprised to find, as the team filed out behind me, that we were being met with a delegation.

The vorcha were not quite what I expected. They stood taller than I, at about Henry's height. They were very sinewy, with thin cords of muscle wrapping around their entire bodies. Though they had their mouths more or less closed, I could see needle-thin teeth that looked like they could tear through pretty much anything. Their eyes were wide and blood red.

There were two vorcha, accompanied by an asari. One of the vorcha and the asari wore the robes of a diplomat. The last vorcha was a bit bigger than all of them, but was still incredibly lean. He was heavily armed with what I identified as a Mattock rifle and a Phalanx pistol.

_Those are some high-end weapons._I thought to myself.

"I am Shink." The vorcha in the middle introduced, his voice a reedy growl, "I am the head of Parliament. This is my bodyguard, Nesk. I welcome you on behalf of Clan Enute."

"Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance." I introduced. "Stand-in head of Special Tasks Team Zeta."

"My name's Aneria." The asari said, "I'm helping Clan Enute create their government. I was under the impression that we would be speaking either to Captain Vether or Lieutenant Gerrard."

"Both were wounded in our last mission." I told her, "There was an invasion attempt on Asteria and there was some pretty heavy fighting. I speak with their authority."

"Reaper forces?" Shink hissed.

I found myself surprised.

_I was aware they wanted to negotiate._ I thought to myself, _But they know about the Reapers?_

"You know of them?" Krieg grunted, beating me to the question.

"Yes, krogan." Shink replied, "A splinter of our clan worked with the Collectors on Omega. They were wiped out, but we investigated and found clues that the Collectors were working for somebody."

"And you arrived at the Reapers how, exactly?" I asked.

"The Collectors were submissive to whoever they served." The other vorcha diplomat explained. "This would indicate technological superiority. Even the geth and the quarians are technologically inferior to the Collectors. We researched the records of Commander Shepard and STT Zeta and found our answers. Which is why we requested that STT Zeta be the ones to negotiate with us."

"They'll be here within the solar year." I informed him. A troubled look crossed Aneria's face and the vorcha hissed.

"That will put a hold on our plans for development." He said.

"You're very well spoken." Krieg noted.

"That would be my doing." Aneria told us, smiling fondly at the vorcha. "I've been helping them develop their speech to be more coherent to the galaxy."

"I'm surprised to see the vorcha organizing." I told him. Shink gestured down the walkway and we departed from the landing pad.

"Clan Enute leaders tired of seeing constant fighting." Shink explained as we walked, "We want vorcha strong and capable of place in the galaxy. Have laid down new laws about reproduction to avoid overpopulation and scarcity of resources."

"Smart." Krieg agreed.

"Thank you, krogan." Shink replied. "Which clan do you represent?"

"I'm a diplomat and spokesperson for Clan Urdnot as well as a member of STT Zeta." Krieg responded.

I remembered immediately that he was in a position to speak for Clan Urdnot on the Urdnot Clan Leader's behalf.

_Perhaps we can make several inroads while we're here._I mused.

"Clan Urdnot?" The asari replied, surprised. "I've heard of them. They're currently organizing the majority of the krogan, correct?"

"We don't have all of them." Krieg replied, grinning, "But we have absorbed quite a large amount of clans in an attempt to unify the krogan."

"A similar concept to what we intend here." Shink noted, "Perhaps, when our talks with the Admiral are finished, we can negotiate with Clan Urdnot, yes?"

"I'll get the clan leader on comms while Lena's talking." Krieg confirmed. "Wrex doesn't want Urdnot to turn into another Blood Pack."

The vorcha hissed in contempt.

"Blood Pack." He shot back, not seeming angry at Krieg, "Short-sighted fools."

"Indeed." Krieg rumbled.

"So what are your numbers like?" I asked as we passed through a pair of doors and into a small hallway. I already knew the answer, of course, but I surmised that showing an interest in their government would certainly be a smart move.

"We stand ten million strong." Shink replied. "The number, for now, only changes when new clans from Heshtok come to join our cause. They are expected to bring their own materials to build onto Nahlen-"

"The city." Aneria supplied helpfully.

"-and they are expected to follow our rules."

I was taken aback.

"Ten million?" I asked.

"Yes." Shink replied, "Eight million civilians, two million military. It has been difficult to persuade the civilians to take up trades and jobs, but we've been making progress. Nahlen is proof of that. Given Council support, we might be able to receive enough training and knowledge to anchor our civilian population after the Reapers."

_I bet that's difficult._ I thought, _Vorcha love fighting. Asking them to become merchants and builders must be tough._

"How is you government set up?" I asked.

"We have divided our views into six parties." the vorcha replied. "It was Aneria's idea. Every two years, the population vote for their parties. Whatever percentage of the vote a party gets, that's the percentage of representatives they get in our six hundred-strong Parliament."

"I don't get it." Krieg grumbled.

"In other words." I explained, catching onto the idea, "If one party gets twenty-two percent of the vote, twenty two percent of the representatives in Parliament will be from that party."

"Correct." Shink hissed. "We also recognize our form of communication-combat, that is- to be considered primitive to other species. As such, we've been mastering the asari language to better represent ourselves to the Council."

"What do you want from the Council?" I asked.

"It's not what I want." He said, "You'll be speaking to our Parliament and they'll decide what we want. They're already aware of the Reaper threat, though not the timetable, so they'll be keeping that in mind."

We stopped outside a door and I felt the slightest twinge of anxiety inside. Leading our Marines into combat was something I'd always been comfortable with. Speaking in front of this many people, however, was completely foreign to me. I looked around to my side and found Ilna there. The blond woman smirked.

"If you want," She teased, "I could talk to them."

I shook my head slowly, bemused.

"Let's go." I told them. I opened the door to find myself in a massive, well-lit room. The room was rectangular, with hundreds of little desks with terminals set up in front of a central podium. At each terminal was a vorcha dressed in the same kind of diplomatic robes as the two behind me. I noticed there were six different colors of robes as I entered the room, giving me the impression that each color represented a different party.

All eyes were on me and I felt a little uneasy as I stepped up to the podium. This entire room seemed to be made of nicer metal than the rest of the city, but it was still welded everywhere. I cleared my throat as the rest of STT Zeta (Minus Krieg) lined up behind me.

"Good evening." I said, not sure where to begin. "I'm Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance. For those who may not know, we're Special Tasks Team Zeta, from the Council. We are here today to discuss the possibility of Council support in exchange for military support during wartime."

_Way to start out strong_. I praised myself. _Now comes the difficult part. You have to be very careful how you word it._

"The Council, unfortunately, does not believe in the Reaper threat." I told them all, "But STT Zeta is on the trail of a Reaper that threatens the Terminus Systems. When the proof comes and the time for action arrives, we will be looking to form and solidify an alliance between Clan Enute and the Council."

A vorcha near the back stood and I directed my gaze to him. He hadn't spoken yet, clearly waiting for me to acknowledge him.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Objection. Why shouldn't we ally ourselves with the Reapers, instead?" He asked, drawing glares or appreciative nods from the vorcha around him. "They are clearly the superior force."

I almost sighed.

_No matter the species._ I thought to myself, _The politics stay the same._

"Because no matter what they or anyone else associated with them will tell you," I started, "the Reapers are not interested in allies. We just came from an engagement with their ground forces. They won't recruit you. They'll subvert you. They'll take your people by force and warp them into mindless drones."

"But-" The vorcha started.

To my surprise, Eryc cut in.

"Don't cut off the Admiral." He hypocritically stated, having cut me off from what I was about to say. He directed a glance at me, then a cold gaze at the standing vorcha. "Look at the track history of the Reaper 'allies'. When the geth were invading Council space, did the Reapers back them up? No. They allowed the geth to be destroyed. When the Collectors began abducting human colonies and were taken down, did the Reapers intercede on their behalf and support their 'allies' when Shepard crushed them? No."

I gave him a nod and then looked back at the Parliament, who had grown a little unsettled.

"At best," I told them, "you will be disposable slaves to the Reapers, to be destroyed as soon as you no longer become useful. At worst, your every thought and action will be theirs' and they will send your species to their doom. While I cannot predict what the Council will be willing to spare, they are at least willing to listen to you and maybe even help you build a legitimate government."

Another vorcha stood and addressed the first.

"And with Council support." He said, "We could have education, training, supplies. Other clans will be willing to join with ours and eventually we won't have to be Clan Enute, we will just be the vorcha."

I noticed a lot of the vorcha looking very appreciative of his words.

"Thank you." I replied, "I don't know if it's been put forward to a vote..."

"I'll handle that." Shink replied, stepping up to the podium. "Representatives, please cast your vote now for or against Council support."

Every vorcha in the room looked at their terminals and began typing as the team and I uncomfortably shifted around. Finally, Shink cleared his throat and all eyes moved to him.

"In this matter," He stated, "there are 473 votes for Council support and 27 against. The action passes."

There was a collective cheering in the room that was so noisy I could feel the room vibrating. I looked at the rest of the team, to find them with hands to ears. Eventually, the noise calmed down enough that Shink was able to speak again.

"We will ask that STT Zeta let us speak to the Council." Shink said, looking at me.

"Just a moment." I told him. I started opening up a comms line on my omni-tool to Roluck.

"Lena?" His flanged voice asked.

"Yes." I told him, "Have you contacted the Council?"

"I have." He said, "They're waiting to hear anything. What's going on on your end?"

"Clan Enute is willing to negotiate with the Council in exchange for military support during wartime."

"I'll patch them in." Roluck responded. There was a moment of silence, then an Asari voice.

"This is Councilor Tevos."

"Councilor." Shink greeted, "This is Shink, Head of Parliament. We have put to vote our willingness to support the Council military in exchange for Council support in helping to build our government and society."

"What were the results?" Council Valern, the salarian councilor, asked.

"Overwhelmingly for." Shink replied. "We would like to open a channel of diplomacy with the Council."

"This is...a unique opportunity." Came the nasal voice of Councilor Udina, "One that we should not take lightly."

"What can you offer, militarily?" Councilor Sparatus, the turian councilor, asked.

"Our military is two million strong." Shink replied. "Though we are still working on ships, our warriors have no fear. New clans are coming from Heshtok every week to join with our clan. If the Council gives us support, our numbers will swell and more military aid can be given. We would like civilian aid and an embassy at the Citadel in return."

"What if you're destroyed?" Sparatus' hard voice asked.

"Doubtful, Councilor." Shink replied, "Heshtok, as always, fights amongst itself. They pay little to no attention to us. Any clans wanting a fight are not welcome here."

"One moment, please." Councilor Tevos requested. There was a long moment of silence, yet again, as the Council spoke amongst themselves and the entire Parliament seemed to hold its breath.

"We accept your offer." Councilor Tevos finally said. "You will be offered a place as a Citadel species, the only representative of the vorcha we will recognize. Since Heshtok has very little in the way of a military, we won't have to worry about a dispute."

I heard a collective sigh from the Parliament and I had to wrestle with myself to keep from cheering. I had truly expected the Council to give us a 'negative' on this alliance.

_I suppose I shouldn't be surprised._ I reasoned, _The Council hasn't heard mention of the Reapers, so there's no reason to think this anything but an alliance._

"Please forward the Council your requests and we'll send what aid we can manage, at the moment." She said, "Meanwhile, we'll begin making room for a vorcha embassy on the Citadel. Please begin finding a Councilor and keep in contact."

"Thank you, Councilor." Shink hissed, grinning widely.

"Connection cut." Roluck replied. "Good job, Lena. I knew you'd do us proud. For a woman."

"Bosh'tet." I grumbled. Then I looked up at Shink.

"As for the Reapers," I told him, "We can't make any promises. We don't know what is going to happen when they finally show up. What I can promise you is that you will not be forgotten. I will ensure that we at least try to evacuate your population and keep them safe."

"That is all we can ask." He replied. "When the time comes, we'll contact you."

"Thank you." I replied.

"In the meantime," He said, "We'd request that a representative from us join your team."

"Oh?" I asked, taken aback. I hadn't expected this. Neither had Roluck, who said (over my omni-tool).

"We can't promise his safety."

"He doesn't need it." Shink replied. "Nesk, get over here."

The bigger, well armed vorcha I'd noticed earlier walked over.

"Nesk is twelve years old and is a defector from the Blood Pack." Shink told us. "He's very well versed in combat and has saved my life on several occasions. Nesk, you're going with them."

Nesk didn't seem surprised in the slightest, meaning this had been planned ahead of time. I couldn't say I blamed them, though.

"We will need him when the war comes." I told Roluck. "Combat skills aside, he's a link to his people."

There was a silence from Roluck, followed with:

"Then welcome to the team, Nesk."

"Thank you." He hissed, his red eyes on my omni-tool. I heard the door open behind us and Krieg lumbered in.

"How did it go?" He asked.

"Excellent." I replied. "The vorcha and Council are working out terms. We got an addition to the team."

Krieg eyed up Nesk critically.

"You're a little too big for a vorcha."

"You're a little too smart for a krogan." Nesk hissed back. I felt myself freeze, not at all sure how Krieg would take that.

Krieg just chuckled.

"Clever is what I do best, pyjack." He answered. Then he looked at Shink. "C'mon, vorcha, Wrex wants to speak to you."

"The rest of Zeta, back to the shuttle." I told the rest of the team.

As we departed, I felt a smile ease onto my face.

_So far, so good._

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	44. Chapter 44

"Please?" Enua asked Roluck, the word sounding forced.

"We do need the contacts." Roluck agreed hesitantly. "I guess we can go to this party. And hey, the Council will be there. That's always a plus."

"Thank you." She breathed. "I want the whole team there."  
I groaned aloud. I was a little tired. Doctor Aline and her staff had installed a tiny unit inside my suit (after vigorous testing) that exposed me to tiny amounts of bacteria every hour. The installation had taken a while and had been done while everyone else was getting sleep.

"Even you." She said.

"This is a high-society party." I said, "You want to bring a quarian, a krogan, a batarian and a vorcha there?"

"They're going to hate us." Barin agreed.

"That's the point." Enua said, "Do you think I really want to go to this party?"

"Hope you're not going there just to be controversial." Errahe spoke seriously.

Ever since his injury, Errahe had been a little more...quiet. I gazed at him, at his half-missing horn and insular countenance.. I thought back to the conversation I'd had with him, about how he was getting old and he was afraid to see the end of the galaxy.

_I know he's seen some serious action for a while,_ I thought to myself, _but that wound must've really shook him._

I reminded myself to have a talk with him sometime and make sure he was still mentally ready for combat.

"Partially." She admitted, "But there are going to be CEOs, politicians and world leaders. They need to get used to seeing krogan, quarians, batarians and vorcha. Those are the same species that will soon be saving them."

"Well said." Henry agreed. I glared at him. Even though he couldn't see my expression, he clearly guessed my disposition. "What? Don't tell me you're not looking forward to putting a bunch of haughty politicians in their place."

I couldn't hold the glare, despite myself.

"Maybe." I admitted.

"Everyone get some formal wear on." Roluck said, "I...have to find mine. It might take a while. Still, we have an hour until we're at Kahje."

He looked down at his hand again, flexing it. It had been rebuilt. There was only one real finger left. The other two were created completely out of cybernetics, metal fingers laced with the tiny glowing blue lights that indicated veins of cybernetics. Most of his hand had been rebuilt like that.

"The hanar homeworld?" Barin asked, surprised. "Interesting."

"It's got a view." Enua answered, "That's why."

We split up and I headed down to Engineering. I wanted to talk to Risha and the crew and make sure they were alright, morale-wise.

When I got down there, everybody was running around and chattering excitedly. I looked around the dark corridors and managed to find Risha.

"Risha!" I yelled. She spun around, her body language showing surprise.

"Admiral." She acknowledged with a nod.

"What's with the commotion?" I asked.

"We may have found a way to upgrade the shields to nearly twice their strength!"

"What?" I asked, immediately interested. These shields were state of the art. There was no wa-

"Well." She started, babbling excitedly, "While upgrading the shield subsystems, We and Anna noticed that there was too much power being drawn per hit and when we recycled the-"

"Just give me the big picture." I told her, holding up my hands to cut her off before she could truly get started.

"Yes," she nodded, "big picture. Big picture is, the shield subsystem is using too much power. We can adjust the shield to draw a small amount of power and keep the amount of power running through the shield systems."

"Which will expand our shield strength." I guessed hopefully.

"Yes, Admiral." She replied.

"How long will it take?" I asked.

"We've hit a little snag," She admitted, "We need a part for it. Very rare, hard to find."

"I thought Captain Vether held a morning brief every other day for this kind of thing?" I asked.

"He's been indisposed for the last few days-

_Ah, that's right._

"So we need to find it."

"Well," I said, "Put in the request and I'll see what we can do."

"Thank you, Admiral."

I nodded and then asked,

"Anything you need? Any issues?"

"Well..." She started, clearly uncertain.

"Yes?"

"We've been out and around for two months, now." She said, "The crew hasn't gotten any time off."

"Well..." I hedged, "From what Enua informed me, our ship will be docked for this party. I could see about the crew getting to mingle."

"Won't...won't the guests hate us?" She asked quietly.

"I don't think Enua would have it any other way." I told her honestly. She giggled and said,

"Could you ask her, though? Spectres kind of scare me."

"I'll ask." I assured her.

"Thanks." She said, "It's not just us. I know the turians and humans want to get off the ship, too. I don't know about the rest of the crew."

"We'll take care of it, Risha'Zun." I assured her.

"I know you'll probably be happy to go." She said, "Get to see Lieutenant Henry'Gerrard in formal wear..."

"You start dreaming about him and we may have an issue, Risha'Zun." I joked.

"Keep him." she giggled, "I've got my eyes on a cute turian on the crew."

_I hope she doesn't mean Roluck._ I reasoned, _Allison might have something to say about that._

As much faith as I had in Risha'Zun, I knew that Allison would win that battle. The human woman had a sort of strange and devious determination about her.

I walked away and was nearly at the door that led to the elevator when a male voice called my name. I turned, expecting to see Henry. Instead, much to my surprise, I saw Eryc striding towards me. He had a smug grin on his face.

"I was thinking," He started, "I've noticed you've been kinda looking over in my direction pretty often."

_I don't get it._

"You're a teammate." I told him, nonplussed.

"Kind of like you look at the Lieutenant." He explained, planting a hand and subtly blocking me from exiting.

_Oh...I see what this is._

Ever since the unreturned familiarity on the shuttle, I'd been dreading this moment and hoping it'd never come. I already had my answer prepared.

"Flynt." I told him, "No. I don't. Not even close."

"And you guys sure do manage to fill out an enviro-suit." He continued, reaching a hand out to my shoulder. He grasped it lightly and I felt rage slowly churning in my stomach.

"If you don't let go, right now..." I started, then trailed off.

"You'll tell the Lieutenant?" He mocked, his grin widening, "I don't think you will."

"No, I won't tell the Lieutenant." I agreed. Then I armed the shotgun I held near my waist and pressed it directly into his groin. His eyes widened exponentially and anger dropped over his features. "But I am more than willing to make you leave here in four pieces. Three of them smaller than the fourth."

"I-uhhh..." He started, not sure what to do. Finally, he turned without a word and stepped into the elevator. I didn't join him as the door closed.

"Hey." Another voice said. I turned to see Ilna striding towards me. She was wearing what Henry had pointed out to me several times as a dress. It was a red color that seemed to offset her hair pretty well. "I saw what happened. Do I need to talk to him?"

"No." I told her, shaking my head, "I think I said everything I need to. Besides, I gotta talk to Enua and Roluck right now."

"You'll have all these men terrified of you, if you keep this up." She said, standing with me as we waited for the elevator. I could hear the smile from her tone.

"I don't particularly care." I admitted as the elevator door opened to reveal Allison and Krieg. Allison had put on a blue dress, while Krieg was...still wearing his armor.

"Did you really think I'd have formal wear?" He asked when he caught Ilna eying him incredulously.

"I've seen your people in civilian clothes before." I told him as the door started to slide shut.

"Yeah." He muttered, "I didn't pack for that."

I let myself off at the crew deck to find Roluck and Enua sitting at the table, waiting for the ship to dock. Enua had on some sort of robe that I'd never seen and Roluck had on a traditional dress garment that I always saw the politicians wearing. Enua, not much to my surprise, was in the middle of a story.

"-snapped up that frag grenade and managed to toss it right back to the clan chief." She was saying with a smirk, "The explosion did one hell of a number to his face."

"I don't doubt it." Roluck muttered, then he looked up at me. "Lena, what can I do for you?"

"The crew is wondering if they can join the party." I told him. "I wanted to run it by everyone."

"Quarians at a high-class party?" Enua envisioned, a smirk on her face, "How scandalous."

"I think that's a yes." Roluck answered.

"That's definitely a yes." Enua told me. I made to get back into the elevator, until Roluck called me back.

"I'll let the crew know." He assured me. "Head up to the Command Center. I'm having Zeta assemble up there."

"Alright." I answered, going right back the way I came and getting back into the elevator. I rode the rest of the way up and stepped out onto the Command Center. Most of the team was already here. Henry was in some sort of black outfit that looked incredibly formal. He also looked incredibly uncomfortable in it. Still, when he saw me he gave me that small grin I loved so much before turning back to a dressed-up Errahe.

In a few moments, Roluck was up on deck. Some of the crew had joined us, too. Most of the Alliance crew simply wore off-duty uniforms while the turian crew members were wearing the same kind of garbs that Roluck wore. My crew were, of course, wearing their uniforms.

"I've ordered the rest of the crew to come and go as they please." He told us all, "But there will be no bringing visitors back to this ship. Everyone can have some drinks, but let's make sure we stay somewhat sober in case anything comes up."

Affirmatives sounded from all around me. Allison walked up from the bridge.

"We're docked." She said, "I think Enua should be up front, in case we take any heat."

I didn't know that last bit, but I got the meaning well enough.

"Good call." Enua agreed, "Let's go, everyone."

We all followed her as one. As we neared the airlock, I felt a little nervous. I wasn't quite sure how I would be received by all of these people.

_If Enua thinks you'll be fine,_ I rationalized, _You'll probably be fine._

Not my finest logic, but it calmed me a little bit. I looked around and spotted Henry up front, with a sulking Eryc behind me. I understood why Henry wanted to stay separate from me for the moment. If there were going to be important people here, he wanted their disposition before it became clear who I was to him.

_I don't think he intends to hide me._ I hoped, _Simply get a feel for how everyone's going to react before going ahead with it._

Besides, I seriously doubted that Henry was terrified of offending politicians and CEOs.

I stood in front of my crew. I was probably the most well-dressed of them all, which wasn't really saying much. My enviro-suit was a little more intricate than theirs' and would give the clear impression that I was the leader. Hopefully it meant everyone would come to me with the attitudes and problems, instead of my people.

We stepped out onto a world that stole the breath out of me.

We were docked on a massive docking bay, with ships of all kinds and types docked around us. Out of this maze of docked ships extended a long bridge that led to a gigantic domed house.

The house (and everything else) was surrounded by the ocean. I'd never really seen much ocean, before. The water was a dark blue, the waves sparkling as light from the orange setting sun reflected off of them. I could see other homes like this one miles away, all of them isolated from one another.

_This is so beautiful._ I thought to myself in awe.

"This is incredible." Lia'Vael whispered next to me. "I've never seen anything like this."

"Yeah." Risha'Zun muttered.

"We can sight-see inside." An annoyed Barin barked from behind us. "We have to get introduced."

I turned on him and was about to say a few harsh words, until I realized he looked extremely nervous. That was unusual, given his usual selfish confidence. Then again, I'd only ever seen him in combat or situations where he wasn't an outsider. This was different. I looked past him to Nesk. The vorcha didn't seem to particularly care about whether or not he'd be ostracized here.

_Wish I could be that carefree._ I mused.

"Let's go." I told my people, waving them onwards. We re-joined the group, who had already gotten ahead of us. When we reached the huge double-doors of the hulking house, we were greeted by a terrified-looking asari.

"Um...excuse me, Miss Ira." she started, looking at Enua. "Who are all these people?"

"I was told I could bring whatever guests I wanted." She shrugged, "I thought I'd bring the SSV Vengeance crew."

"As in 'The same ship that assisted in saving my son?'" A voice asked as the doors opened behind her.

We were met by the sight of a tall, powerful-looking human. He had short blond hair, a clean-looking beard and deep blue eyes. He was wearing the same kind of suit Henry was.

George Sanders, the CEO of Hahne-Kodar. The same CEO whose son we'd saved out in the Nedelas asteroid field. He was smiling brightly, despite the clear looks of disgust our large group was getting from the guests inside.

"Anybody who helped in that operation is more than welcome in my home." He told us with a smile, "Just try not to break anything."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Mister Sanders." Roluck replied, stepping inside. We began to follow suit. "How is Harold?"

"He's quite alright." George Sanders answered with a smile, "He can't stop talking about you all."

He looked over and saw Krieg poking around the alcohol. I saw a faint frown on his face.

"Krieg, wasn't it?" He asked. Krieg looked up at him. "Ask one of the servers to guide you to the cellar. I believe I have a barrel of Ryncol I've been saving just in case of krogan visitors."

"Thank you." Krieg replied with a nod, earning him glares from the surrounding species.

I decided to leave Henry and Roluck with Sanders as I walked over to the large window, with some of my people in tow.

I must've spent half an hour just staring at the ocean, speechless. I watched the sun go down and the stars slowly begin to shine through the dark sky. I only turned away from the view when I heard someone call my name.

Henry was sitting on a couch, with a few women clearly trying to move in on him. Two of them were glaring at each other nearby and one was actually on the opposite end of the couch, trying her best to get his attention. All three of them were beautiful, by human standards.

_I can never figure out why women like him._ I pondered, _He's certainly not ugly, but he's not the best-looking man either. Maybe it's the scars._

I smiled as I walked towards the couch, passing Enua and Krieg as they swapped rough war stories with some grizzled-looking human in yellow and black armor. Henry was holding a drink up that had a straw in it. One of the women looked my way and her eyes widened. The one on the end of the couch immediately stood and walked away in a huff as I seated myself snugly next to Henry. The last one just scoffed and walked off.

"These women are vultures." He muttered as he draped an arm around my waist. "Just looking for somebody interesting with some kind of money or security. Nothing else."

"Good thing I came when I did." I told him, mock-serious.

"Indeed." He replied, then sighed. "I might've had to sleep with one of them. It would've been a travesty."

I punched him in the arm, as usual. He merely grinned.

"It doesn't hurt, anymore." He admitted, "Probably used to it, by now."

"Bosh'tet." I grumbled in amusement as I looked out across the party.

Ilna and Dr. Aline were practically being swarmed by men. They looked bemused by the attention, if nothing else. Krieg and Enua were listening intently as that same heavily-armored human started speaking about being nearly strangled by a hanar. Gin was talking to another volus and they both seemed intent on discussing the future of the market. Nesk and Barin were talking to somebody that I instantly recognized as the asari councilor. They all looked a little uneasy with one another, but it was headway. Errahe was in quiet talks with his councilor. Eryc was talking to some woman who looked almost stunned by him. My crew were uneasily managing to slide into conversations, managing to at least get civil responses and some entertainment out of the evening. The rest of the crew, being of a Council Species, were mingling easily enough.

I saw Roluck and Allison talking to another business man as I sucked some of my drink through the straw. I nudged Henry and pointed to them.

"That's the CEO of Armax Arsenal." Henry told me. I felt my eyes widen behind my mask. That was yet another maker of weapons and armor. "They're trying to get friendly with the man. We may need him later."

"Why aren't you talking to these people?" I asked quietly. He gave me a serious look, then the usual boyish grin spread over his features.

"I don't do well with politicians and businessmen." He answered. "The only person I want to talk to is right here."

I gently grabbed him by the hand and pulled him up with me. He didn't remove his arm from around my waist. Clearly, from the small gasps and looks of surprise and scorn, he was determined to offend as many people as possible, here. I didn't mind the looks and the outrage. All I cared about, at the moment, was us. I pulled him to the window, which some of my people still gazed out of. They looked at the two of us, but payed the public affection no mind before turning back to the view.

"I hope to see my home someday." I admitted to Henry.

"Rannoch?" He asked. I only nodded.

"I would like a home." I replied quietly.

"As would I." He agreed. I was surprised by the answer, which clearly showed in my reaction, because Henry shrugged. "I've never really had a home, just colonies where I lived. Just one place to another to another."

"Maybe we can make a home?" I asked, hoping my words didn't sound as pleading as I thought. Henry and I were together, but we were also of two entirely different worlds. I didn't fool myself that even if we somehow survived all of this, there would be so many problems with us being together.

He seemed to chuckle to himself, that smile on his face before he looked down at me.

"If we survive all of this," He answered, "I can promise that. Maybe not Rannoch, bu-"

He was cut off when I grabbed him around the waist and hugged myself to him. He seemed a little startled by the sudden action, but returned the embrace.

_Keelah. _I thought to myself, _I love him more than he'll ever know._

We were cut off from the moment when I heard the sound of a throat clearing and a wine glass being tapped against. I turned to see Roluck standing on a chair, commanding everyone's attention. I noticed more than a few horrified gazes drawn to his half-mechanical hand.

"I wanted to thank you all for accepting us here." He said, "But it seems STT Zeta has yet another mission. Before I leave, I want to say a few words, which our gracious host was willing to let me do."

He gazed around the crowd before continuing.

"You know," He started, his eyes finding Henry and I, "I consider myself privileged to have Lieutenant Gerrard over there as my Executive Officer and friend. When I met him, slouched up against a Mako in the aftermath of the geth incursion on Eden Prime nearly three years ago, he was of the same species that had embarrassed us in the First Contact War. Yet, with time, I came to respect him and eventually trust him."

A few gazes left him and looked at Henry with a new-founded respect. A survivor of the Eden Prime incursion was certainly a rare find. Roluck wasn't done, yet.

"Our second team mate was a quarian, the beautiful -maybe- Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance, next to Henry."

I felt my cheeks burn as more gazes left him and assessed me critically. I was very aware of where Henry's arm was.

"Since then, we've accepted what seems like every single species into this team." He continued, "Their struggles are the same, their pain is the same and their longings are the same. Maybe a few of you have gotten brave and spoken to some of these people. The 'despicable' ones."

The tone on the word 'despicable' was somewhere between angry and bemused.

"I've never met a military man or woman who has cared who is sharing their fighting position." Roluck said, "The tolerance and acceptance starts with you all. Through my time in the STT, I've realized that so little divides us, but it divides us so thoroughly."

His gaze once again scanned through the crowd, who had fallen silent.

"It starts with people like you." He repeated. "Businessmen, diplomats, politicians. You people are the ones who affect whether or not the galaxy gets to advance. Please, I implore you, begin to look to the future, instead of staying in the past."

There was silence around the large room, save for the turned-down music.

"Yeeeeaaaaah!" Came a sudden, loud voice. I looked over see Eryc with his hands cupped around his mouth, "Let's get some tolerance up in here!"

He started clapping and slowly, people around the room began to applaud. Judging from the look on Roluck's face, he was embarrassed.

"STT Zeta!" He yelled, gaining the attention of us and the crew, "To The Vengeance!"

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	45. Chapter 45

I stared down at the plethora of weapons on the weapons bench. Henry had apparently been busier than I'd thought. All of them looked new and all of them looked highly advanced. A piece of paper had been slapped down next to the weapons.

I looked down at the piece of paper and began reading:

**Nesk - Frontline Assault (Eviscerator & Tempest)**  
**Errahe - Frontline Assault (Locusts)**  
**Krieg - Heavy Assault (Revenant & Custom Claymore)**  
**Roluck - Mid-Range Assault (Harrier &Tempest)**  
**Enua - Mid-Range Assault (Vindicator & Paladin)**  
**Barin - Mid-Range Assault (Mattock & Paladin)**  
**Lena - Flexible Support (N-7 Crusader & M-358 Talon)**  
**Eryc - Flexible Support (M-37 Falcon & Hornet)**  
**Henry - Long-Range Support (Angel & Locust)**  
**Ilna - Long-Range Support (M-98 Widow & Carnifex)**

"Everyone grab your guns." Roluck said, "We're already on our way to the mission, so you'll all need to listen up. We should be there, soon."

I picked up the new weapons. The shotgun and pistol were both weapons I'd studied about but never seen. The Crusader was a long, cylindrical shotgun that fired tightly-packed bursts that acted just like a spray, but could fire at nearly any reasonable range. The Talon was a bulky-looking pistol with gold and black markings on it. A Cerberus weapon. This weapon fired a lot like a shotgun. Both of them were exceedingly uncommon and usually saved for the most elite of soldiers.

I felt like throwing my arms around Henry. From what I saw of everybody else, so did they. These weapons and roles were designed to compliment our fighting styles.

"We're headed to an uncharted planet in the Hades Nexus." Roluck told us all. "Alliance scans discovered an artifact that they believe belongs to the Reapers. The survey team fled the planet as Reaper forces arrived and are currently in orbit awaiting us."

"A Reaper artifact?" Henry wondered, his brow drawn down, "Won't that thing try to indoctrinate us?"

"Probably." Roluck agreed. "Which is why I want you to go in alone. The survey team has a device that can measure the waves coming off the artifact. The timing between wavelengths will give you a ti-"

He noticed all of us staring at him.

"It'll tell you how long, to the minute, until the Reapers arrive." He finished. I heard an exhalation from everyone.

"And you want Henry to go in alone?" I asked, incredulous. After what a simple piece of a Reaper's leg had done to Elura, I didn't trust to chance what would happen to Henry.

"He's the best candidate." Krieg grunted. "He's got a clearer head than most of us."

_And he'd be easy to kill, since he's oriented towards long-range engagements._ I thought, immediately hating the fact that the thought had entered my mind.

"The Reapers have descended on the ruins the artifact is in." Roluck continued, "It's a sprawling area and as such, I want to divide our team into groups of two."

He place another piece of paper on the weapons bench. We all leaned in to look at it.

**Roluck & Eryc**  
**Lena & Ilna**  
**Enua & Errahe**  
**Nesk & Barin**  
**Henry & Krieg**

_The teams are very balanced._ I thought to myself.

"We're going to have Lia'Vael fly us in the Kodiak and drop the teams off over points." Roluck explained. "General Toulius wants this done as quickly as possible, for obvious reasons."

"What will their forces be like?" Nesk hissed.

"You'll find out pretty quick," Roluck started, "but we've learned some lessons from the last battle. Husks and cannibals will be the easiest to take out. There's no real special trick, there. Marauders should be dealt with immediately unless there's something bigger running around. Brutes should be brought down under combined fire, but they're too big to really be too effective. Banshees sould be avoided at all costs, but if you're forced into a fight with one, engage it at mid-to-long range. Do not get in close with it."

Roluck looked down at the list.

"You'll be with Barin, then?" He asked, "Barin will take care of you, he kicked some ass on Asteria."

Barin just grunted in acknowledgement, taking the compliment without thanks.

"Now," Roluck said, "We've go-"

"We're about to pick up the survey team." Allison warned us over the comms system.

"Airlock or shuttle bay?" Roluck asked.

"Airlock." Allison answered.

"Everyone start getting used to your weapons and grab your armor." Roluck ordered, "Don't forget your helmets, atmosphere's very thin out there."

I looked down at my weapons and decided that I had bigger things to deal with, right now. I strode over to Roluck, who saw me coming and immediately put a hand up.

"It makes the most sense, Lena." He said, heading me off, "I have faith that Henry can resist whatever that thing tries to throw at him."

"I'm more worried about splitting up into pairs, honestly." I told him.

"We'll be fine." He assured me, "It's risky, I'll admit, but I don't want to go in a group and have the Reapers surround us. With pairs, we'll be able to split their forces and divide their attention."

"I don't like it." I confided in him. "This situation has too many unknowns."

"I don't like this either." He agreed, nodding, "But we don't really have a lot of options, do we?"

"No." I admitted, "And your reasoning is sound, if anything."

"Thanks for the confidence." He replied with a smile. The smile vanished when the elevator behind us opened and a trio of humans walked in. They wore the uniforms of Alliance military and were carrying a small, bulky box.

"Captain Vether?" One of them asked. Roluck held up his mangled hand and the soldiers approached the two of us. They looked weary and dirty, probably from scrambling away from all the Reaper forces planetside.

"You three alright?" Roluck asked.

"We are." The highest ranking member of the group (A Sergeant) confirmed. "Thanks for the concern, sir. We estimate their forces to be at about a hundred and fifty strong. Nearly all of them are light troops."

"We'll take care of it." I assured him while I did the math. That averaged out to fifteen troops per person. For a normal unit, that'd be difficult, but we weren't the normal unit, either.

"Boss," Allison said, "I've got the ruins in sight."

"Suggest Engineer Lead Risha'Zun hurry to shuttle bay to provide piloting services." Anna called out, her tone nearly amused.

Almost as if on cue, the elevators opened again and Risha stepped out. The young quarian looked a little nervous when all eyes turned to her, but she bore the scrutiny anyways and started towards the shuttle.

"Here." The lead Marine said, handing the black box to Roluck. "It's made to be simple. Just hit the button when you're near the artifact. Keep it going for a couple of minutes and then hit the button again to end the recording. We've got some eggheads back home who will figure the rest out."

"Got it." Roluck replied. The Marines seemed nervous, but I chalked that up to facing Reaper forces for the same time. I still remembered the forces on Rothla vividly.

_We all better get used to it_. I thought morosely, _We're going to be seeing a lot more of them, soon._

Roluck started towards the shuttle and I trailed him as everyone packed themselves in. I uncomfortably pinned myself between Henry and Barin, both of whom were a hell of a lot bigger than me. I couldn't help but notice that Enua had managed to slink into the passenger's seat as Lia'Vael jumped into the driver's seat.

"How're you doing up there, princess?" Henry complained as he pulled the door shut.

"Very good, thank you." Enua said. I felt Ilna shift around behind me.

"I think I forgot-"

"Nope." Roluck cut her off. "This door's staying closed because we are so tightly packed that I think Krieg's quad is touching my thigh."

"I'm over here, Roluck." Krieg grunted from the opposite corner of the shuttle as the bay door opened.

"Who's-oh hi, Eryc." Roluck muttered as the shuttle left the bay and began descending to the surface of the lifeless brown surface. I could see the ruins he meant in the distance over Barin's shoulder. There was a very large central clearing, where I could see some sort of ragged object. Off of the central clearing was a network of tunnels and passageways. I could see the sense in Roluck's plan, now. With each of us working through to the center, it decreased the load placed on the entire group.

Plus, I doubted we'd be able to fit the whole group in any of the tunnels.

"Bring us in low and quiet." Roluck ordered Lia. "The dawn will work well for us."

"You got it, sir." she answered. I felt a quiet pride in my engineer for stepping up yet again and entering an operation as a non-combatant.

She swooped in low towards a tiny clearing.

"Henry! Krieg!" Roluck yelled, "You're closest, go first. Don't move from the clearing until I give the go ahead and we're all on the ground."

"Wilco." Henry replied, shifting slightly.

"What?" Roluck answered, but Henry didn't explain the affirmative as he threw the door open and jumped out. From behind me, I heard Krieg doing the same.

Two at a time, our team was quietly dropped off at entrances to the ruins. There was no resistance, probably because we were so far out from the center. I was the second-to-last group and I gave a nod to Ilna as we dropped into yet another clearing that proceeded the entrance to what looked like a crowded tunnel.

As soon as my feet hit the ground, I headed for a piece of cover, the Crusader out and ready in case of early resistance. I knelt behind a broken pillar and waited. I heard Ilna behind me, her Widow out and aiming towards the door. I took the opportunity to glance around and make sure nothing was creeping up on our sides. I was relieved to find that we were (more or less) secure.

"I've touched down." Roluck came in over my comms system. "Everyone begin your advance. If you reach the clearing before everyone else, do your best to stay away from it."

There was a cacophony of affirmatives.

I looked at Ilna and jerked my head towards the entrance to the ruins. She gave me a small nod and we were up. I shot to my feet and began running. The light that the dawn had radiated dimmed as I reached the entrance. I immediately went for a pile of rubble and knelt behind it, weapon aimed down the hall. I looked over at Ilna, who was pressed up against the wall at the entrance, glancing inside.

_She's smart._ I observed, _Though I'd expect nothing less, having been trained by Henry._

"Team Badass has made contact with Reaper forces." Henry reported, with gunfire in the background.

_Oh keelah..._

"Team Badass?" Roluck wondered in amusement as I shot up and dashed for the corner.

"It fits." Krieg said, his voice indicating certainty that it was the only explanation required.

I reached the corner and glanced around it.

There were a pair of husks ahead that were being shadowed by a marauder even further back. I looked to my left and gestured Ilna over to me. She quietly approached me, rifle at the ready.

"Two husks and a marauder." I told her quietly. "You take out the marauder and I'll move and take care of the husks."

She nodded and pressed herself up against me as she peeked out around the corner, undoubtedly trying to figure the positions of the enemy. I scooted out from in front of her and gave her the corner as she brought the sniper rifle up to her helmet. There was a pause, then the loud crack of the M-98 Widow. I swept around the corner as Ilna withdrew. The marauder was still sinking to the ground as the husks turned towards us. I lined up the shot as best as I could with the Crusader. With a loud bang, the Crusader bucked and sent the tightly packed shot towards the husk.

The husk was torn nearly in two and I moved on from it and threw myself against the husk, bringing it to the ground with me straddling it.

The only downside of the Crusader. I mused as I reversed my grip on the shotgun, Only 4 rounds per clip. I don't want to reload in case something else comes in after I finish the husk.

I slammed the butt of the shotgun into the husks face twice, earning a dull crack as the head caved in and the husk went still. I didn't move from my position, bringing the Crusader up and aiming down the hall.

"Clear." I whispered, just loud enough for Ilna to hear.

"You know," Ilna mused from behind me, "I think I'm going to sell the video my helmet takes of you. I'll make a fortune."

"I think watching quarians beat down Reaper forces will be common enough, soon." I replied quietly.

"True enough." Ilna responded glumly.

I started towards the end of the hall, which ended in an intersection. There was a path to the right and one to the left. I looked at Ilna and prayed she'd get the hand signals as I pointed at the wall to the right of the intersection, tapped both fingers on the visor of my helmet and pointed to the left.

Translation: "Go to the right wall and keep an eye on the left."

Ilna nodded and pressed herself against the wall to my right, staring down the hallway to the left as she slid towards the intersection. I mirrored her movement, doing the same on the left wall as we moved together. When we got to the intersection, I found the right path clear. I looked to Ilna for confirmation to find her with her rifle up to her cheek, concentrating down the hall. She held out two fingers on her firing hand and I nodded, waiting. The rifle barked and I saw a thin trail of smoke erupt from the rifle. Ilna dropped it to her hip to reload and I came around the corner.

A marauder stood in front of me, already facing in our direction. His rifle was up and he began to fire when I pulled the trigger. I heard alarms in my suit as the side tore open and a flash of pain lanced through my side, but my shot sent him staggering. A second shot blew the top half of his head off. As Ilna curved around me, I reloaded.

"Clear." She muttered to me.

I inspected my suit to find a rather large hole in the side of it. Stronger immune system or not, I was going to pay for this one. I could even see the bright red line underneath where the round had skimmed.

"Hold up." I told her, leaning against the wall and taking a patch out of a pocket. Ilna watched in clear concern as I deftly sewed the patch over the hole. "This is going to hurt, later."

"I've taken a round." I reported quietly, "Nothing serious, but I'll probably be feeling it in an hour."

"Acknowledged." Roluck muttered. Clearly, he was trying to be quiet, too. "How's your progress?"

"Five down, so far." I told him, "We're making progress, slowly."

"Got it."

"Yeah," Barin grunted, "One of those damn banshees tore through my armor and caught me in the arm. I'm gonna be needing some stitches after this."

"You still good?" Roluck asked.

"I can still shoot, if that's what you mean." Barin replied.

As I popped in a fresh thermal clip, I stalked towards the corner. I peeked around to find that it was clear. I couldn't help but notice the gunfire sporadically blasting throughout the caves as STT Zeta advanced. We kept moving through the corridors quietly until, in a mere few minutes, we came across a group blocking our way.

Ilna had nearly panicked at the sight of the fifteen tightly packed husks and marauders, all of them seemingly waiting for us. I had merely grinned and pulled out a pair of frag grenades.

"Switch to your pistol." I ordered her.

I came around the corner, both grenades primed. I threw the first off to the left and the other to the right.

With a blast that I was sure would tear the caves down, the grenades erupted. Deciding to use the element of surprise, I swept forward, Crusader up. I fired into a stumbling husk, then turned without watching it fall as I unloaded another blast into a marauder who had stumbled towards our position. Both went down as I heard the sporadic but smooth firing of the Carnifex. I pivoted on my foot as I heard gunfire nearby and fired directly into the face of a cannibal who had closed on me. With an accurate head shot from Ilna's Carnifex, the last husk fell.

"That was rough." Ilna muttered as we picked our way through the bodies and continued. We hit another three way intersection, with a pair of husks we quietly mopped up. When we took the left at the junction and peered around the corner, we were met by something blocking the hallway.

The brute was nearly filling the hallway, which was going to make fighting him difficult. What was worse, he was flanked by a pair of cannibals. I turned back around the corner, digging into the pockets of my suit.

"One brute, two cannibals." I whispered.

"Plan?" She muttered, leaning close to me. I noticed a lot of anxiety in her form. I had to admit that going two-on-one with a brute wasn't my idea of a fun time.

"What kind of special rounds do you have?" I asked as I pulled out the thermal clip I'd singled out as the armor-piercing ammunition. I took out the fresh thermal clip and began to insert the other.

"Incendiary, cryo." She answered immediately.

"Switch to your pistol, use the incendiary and back up to the intersection." I ordered her quietly. "I'm going to toss a grenade and hopefully that'll bring down the two cannibals. When that thing starts chasing me, I'll unload on it to keep it distracted. I'm going to draw it past the intersection, where you'll be hiding. That's when I want you to come out and unload the Carnifex into its back."

"Roger." She whispered, retreating to the intersection. I took a breath, readying myself and calming my nerves. Then I pulled one of my three frag grenades out of yet another pocket. I primed it, held it for a second, then swung around the corner and threw it.

As I retreated backwards, there was a concussion that shook the tunnel and I heard a roar. Apparently, the brute was pissed off, now. I kept retreating as it turned the corner and immediately fired into its shoulder. The rounds, propelled with more force from their modification, tore into the brute, but didn't go all the way through. The bony, turian head on top of the hulking thing roared in defiance as it suddenly broke into a sprint towards me.

I backpedaled, firing another blast at it. The rounds tore into its leg, seeming to slow it down in the slightest.

_Or maybe that's just wishful thinking._

I dove backwards when its arm came down and realized I was at the intersection. I didn't glance to the side, not wanting to give away Ilna's position. I kept backing up as it stalked towards me, rapidly closing the distance.

Another shot, the desperation no longer simulated for the brute. Another blast, tearing away half the thing's face. It still kept coming.

_No time to reload,_ A rational part of my brain kindly informed me, _The pistol._

As it closed the gap, I stood my ground, dropped the shotgun and raised the Talon. I began to fire desperately, the spread of shots seeming to slow the brute. It suddenly straightened and roared, rounding on Ilna. She'd come around the corner and started plugging thick rounds into the brute. It started towards her, now, seeming sluggish. I wasn't about to be ignored.

I crouched and proceeded to leap with all my power, landing directly on the brute's back. It roared and attempted to grab me, but I ducked the hand, stuck my pistol directly into its neck and fired, severing what was left of the head. With a boom, it toppled down, throwing me off. I stood and looked at Ilna. She was staring at me.

"You quarians don't really fuck around, huh?" She asked.

I grinned as I shook my head.

There was a sudden shot and I felt a sudden jolt of agony in my left thigh. I cried out and dropped to the ground on my knees. Ilna took a stance above me and fired three shots in rapid succession. I instantly tried to close the rupture, panicking a little. That first one had been dangerous enough, but this shot had gone right through my thigh. I turned off the program the salarians had installed in my suit that slowly introduced bacteria into me.

"Let me help." Ilna said, pushing me onto my butt. She gently applied a dressing to both sides of my thigh before helping me patch the suit. "How bad is that going to set you back?"

"I'll need medical attention within a half-hour." I told her. "Or I might very well be down for weeks. Or dead."

"Then let's get you up." She said.

"Let me get some anti-biotics in there." I told her, activating another couple of controls on my omni-tool. The section sealed around the wound as anti-biotics flooded the area. "That'll buy me another half hour."

"Roluck." Ilna reported as I snatched up my shotgun, still unable to get up, "Lena took a shot through the thigh. She's gonna need Doctor Aline within the hour."

"How close are you?" He asked.

"We're up to twenty-six kills." she answered, "The last were two cannibals, a brute and a marauder. Those have to be the last ones."

"Keep on it." Roluck said, "Do your best to keep her out of the fight."

"Bullshit." I grunted, pushing myself off the ground using the shotgun. "I can still fight."

"I'll try." Ilna countermanded me, "But that may not be an option."

"Too much resistance?" He asked.

"Yeah, but not from the Reapers."

I heard Henry laugh over the comms system.

"She gets like that." He confided, "Don't let her fool you, she wants to be babied."

I felt my blood boil and was about to reply, but Ilna slipped a shoulder under mine. I looked at her and she gestured to the corner.

"Come on." Ilna urged. "Best to use your pistol. More accuracy that way."

I conceded the logic to her and let her lead me through the hallway. There was a dead marauder, its head missing from where Ilna had loaded three rounds into it. Beyond the corner was a pair of shredded bodies that used to be cannibals. Dark blood pooled under them as we limped past. Another corner and we found ourselves staring directly into the clearing.

I could see the spiky object in the distance. I got a strong urge to go over there and take a look at it. I fought the urge as Ilna gently seated me at the wall.

"I don't like that thing." She muttered.

"Roluck." I reported, "We've reached the clearing. There are no enemies here. I think they're all in the tunnels."

"Hold your position." Roluck ordered us, "Barin and Nesk are holding theirs, as well."

Ilna raised the rifle to her cheek and looked across the clearing.

"Yeah." She muttered, "I see them. They both look a little torn up."

"Everyone is making progress." Roluck reported, "It shouldn't be more than five more minutes, here. Lia'Vael, how are you doing?"

"I'm just floating in orbit." she reported. "I'll be ready for a pickup whenever you are."

"Atta girl." Henry praised. I once again felt pride in Lia'Vael.

"Just hold." Roluck ordered everyone.

Ilna nodded and looked down at me. I couldn't see her face behind the helmet, but I imagined she was smiling.

"For a little thing," she informed me, her voice hinting at amusement, "You're quite the badass."

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	46. Chapter 46

"Here he goes." Ilna said, sounding tense as we watched Henry approach the Artifact. He seemed ill at ease, but he still crept forward, the box in hands. When he was close enough, he just...took a seat.

He seemed like he was trying to keep his eyes off the thing as he glanced around, finally settling on turning his back on it.

I felt the headache already coming on, alongside a fever. My legs had collapsed form under me and the dizziness had nearly dropped me when I'd attempted to stand. Ilna had sat down and wrapped an arm around my shoulders while we'd waited. It hadn't done much, but it was comforting.

"What the hell is he doing?" Ilna wondered.

I looked over to see Henry standing, pacing back and forth in front of the thing in agitation.

"Somebody." His voice said over the intercom. He sounded unsure, shaky. I was sure that the artifact knew the fate that was about to befall it and was doing its best to take Henry with everything it had. "Talk to me. Please."

"Stop being such a whiny little pyjack." Krieg immediately retorted. I heard a weak laugh from Henry. "Bikir just got her first suit, you know?"

"Was it pink?" Henry wondered.

"No." Errahe answered instead, "Krieg saving that one for himself."

Henry let out a soft laugh.

"You gonna be okay, Lieutenant?" Eryc asked.

"This thing is talking to me." Henry replied, "Whispering to me. It knows what we're trying to do. It knows and it is putting every effort into making sure it doesn't happen.."

"The Staff Sergeant I met in training on Tachunka would be punching that thing by now," Ilna responded next to me. "Probably while yelling at it."

"Eh." Barin taunted, "He's getting soft. Too much time working on guns and not enough time shooting them."

"Fuck you, Barin." Henry grunted. The batarian laughed.

"Maybe I need to teach him something about fighting." Nesk replied. It was a terrible attempt at bantering, but at least he was trying to help. That was more meaningful than anything else.

"He'd beat you half to death, Nesk." Enua replied, "Don't kid yourself."

"But he won't do it style, like me." Roluck agreed.

"How long's it been?" Henry wondered.

"Almost a minute and a half." Roluck answered.

"Lena, are you alright?" Henry asked. I smiled at the concern in his voice. Even though the closest thing this galaxy had to pure evil was currently trying to warp his mind, he was worried about me.

"I'll be alright, I think." I told him, "You?"

"I'm thinking of Elura." He answered.

"That...doesn't seem to be the wisest course of action." Roluck muttered.

"It helps." He said, "Helps me to remember exactly what will happen to me should this son of a bitch win...did you know we have volus in our 'training program', now?"

"That must be ridiculous." Barin observed.

"The little bastards have a knack for mines and grenades," Krieg argued, "Even if they can't shoot straight."

"You should be alright, now, Henry." Roluck said.

Henry stood and gave a long, hard look at the object. I felt anxious as I watched him, a condition that wasn't helped by the quickly approaching blackout.

"You know..." he started, then stopped. The words made me shudder, as I could tell there was something very wrong going on in his head. "You know...if we got Allison in here to destroy this thing, I bet it would really piss Vanguard off."

"That sounds like the best idea you've had all week." Roluck said, "Allison, come in."

"Yeah, Boss?" I distantly heard Allison ask.

"We're going to have Lia pick us up. Swoop down and annihilate this piece of junk when she's done."

"You go-" She started, but the fever finally began to overtake me and I passed out.

I looked out over Rannoch again. This time, the whole team was there. Henry was at my side, looking every bit the grizzled but young soldier he was. Rannoch's beauty had been warped, twisted into mechanical structures and spires. I saw what looked like Husks in torn-up environmental suits roaming the countryside in front of us aimlessly.

"This is home, now." I said quietly. "This is my home."

A massive form blotted out the sun and descended from the sky. Vanguard. The Reaper landed not a hundred yards away, shaking the earth beneath us.

"Henry, you know how to talk to it." Roluck said. Roluck looked like he'd been built completely out of cybernetics, even down to his tongue.

"Yeah." Henry said. But his voice wasn't his. It was Vanguard's voice, that deep metallic roar that made me shiver. "Yes I do."

He turned to me and his eyes flashed a machine-like crimson.

I woke with a yell and found that I'd drawn the gazes of the entire team.

They were huddled around a vid of some sort that was playing on Ilna's omni-tool. They looked beaten up and tired, but they were all alive. Nesk and Barin were both asleep. Barin's right arm was heavily bandaged and Nesk's left abdomen was covered in guaze. Eryc had a splint attached to his left leg and Henry was just fast asleep. None of them woke to my yell, giving me the impression that they were sedated.

I could feel one hell of a headache coming on, as well as some dizziness and exhaustion. I could even feel some sort of mucus slowly pouring out of my nose that was being cleaned away by the suit's self-cleaning mechanism.

My suit...well, suffice to say I needed a new one. My suit had patches all over it and while it did lend itself to make me look like a veteran, it also looked particularly ugly.

_Frivolous, I know._ I mused, _But an Admiral should always have a clean-looking envirosuit._

Doctor Aline, the rest of Zeta and the medical staff were all gathered around Ilna, who was displaying a vid on her omni-tool. I heard a sharp cry from the omni-tool and realized it was the vid of me jumping onto the brute's back and blowing his head off. There was an awkward silence as the pistol blast obliterated what was left of the thing's head on the vid.

"Seriously." Enua said, "I've watched this shit like...six times already."

I laughed aloud and everyone was instantly put at ease.

"You weren't supposed to wake up for another couple of hours." Doctor Aline said. "Nightmares?"

"Yeah." I nodded, giving no other details. "How long since we left the planet?"

"Six hours." Doctor Aline said, "You were in poor health when I got you, so I put you under to make you easier to work on. I can hear congestion in your voice, how're you feeling?"

"Sick." I told her honestly.

"You should be back up and running in a few days." Doctor Aline assured me.

"Thanks, doctor." I replied. The asari matron smiled at me warmly as I looked over the others. "What's wrong with them?"

"Eryc's leg is broken." She replied, "We installed a little bit of cybernetics to help him heal faster at his behest. Barin took a claw to the arm. His wounds are infected, so we had to cut out a little bit of tissue. He should be up, soon. Six hours from now he should be fit to get up. Nesk is going to be down for a couple days. He took a few bullets to the side."

"And Henry?" I asked softly.

"He...requested we put him under for a while." Roluck replied. "He's exhausted and not exactly in the best frame of mind right now."

"Will he be alright?"

"He should be." Enua replied with a nod. "That son of a bitch is tough, if nothing else."

The doors slid open and Allison walked in, her focus on Roluck.

"Hey, Boss." She said, "That video was incredible. I already put it on-"

She stopped immediately when she caught sight of me and Roluck looked panicked. The damage was done.

"On the extranet?" I demanded quietly.

"Well..." Allison said, her eyes widening a little, "I've got a site up for us. I upload videos to it every once in a while. That one with Henry yelling at the krogan when Zeta rescued Bikir still has the most hits, though."

"We have an extranet site?" I wondered.

"We're going to need one, soon." Allison argued. I noticed the entire team looking at her in something bordering anger.

_I guess I'm not the only one who hasn't been told._

"Look." She said, "In four months time, the Reapers are going to be here. People are going to need some hope. So I figured I'd post up pictures, vids and bios on a site I created. All un-classified bits, nothing personal on any of us. We've actually managed to make some inroads with some people using it."

"Inroads?" Ilna asked.

"There have been offers from shipyards to upgrade our ship, as well as some...deals I'm trying to broker."

"Deals?" Roluck repeated.

"I've talked dozens of people into joining the Alliance flight programs as well as enlist." She said, "Gin and I...may have also been the reason the volus are in the training camps. Through the site, of course."

_She's more useful than I'd realized._

"That doesn't sound like something you'd come up with on your own." Enua noted suspiciously. Allison kept her mouth shut, ever the stoic woman.

"It was Gin and Anna, wasn't it?" Roluck asked. I felt my mind trying to come up with a question, which I blurted out before Roluck could continue with his inquiry.

"Did you say four months?"

The room went quiet. I noticed that everyone looked very glum at the mention of the timeframe.

"According to the scientists back at the Alliance," Roluck answered. "Four months. then they'll be here."

"And how long until our project is complete?"

"Two weeks."

"Three and a half months." I concluded bitterly.

_How in the hell do they expect to be ready during that time?_ I wondered, _Assuming the Council believes us at all._

I sighed and laid back on the bed, shaking my head solemnly.

"This is insane." I muttered. I looked over at Henry.

_We were going to build a home together and everything, Rannoch or not, before the Reapers came._ I remembered. _I guess we're going to have to wait._

"You ever think..." I started, hoping that my next words wouldn't be taken the wrong way, "You ever think of just letting everyone else deal with it when the Reapers come? Just go to a tiny colony world or something and wait for the end?"

"That's the most pessimistic thing I've ever heard." Enua informed me.

"I know." I agreed, "But we've already done so much. Why should we have to do all the work, just so we can do all the work again?"

"Because the rest of the galaxy won't be able to figure itself out." Krieg grumbled. "Leaving the galaxy with the mess isn't an option. At least, not one that will work."

Roluck heaved an audible sigh and looked at the rest of the team, medical staff included.

"Give Lena and I the room, will you?"

Everybody grumbled, but obeyed him nonetheless. They all got up and left as one, leaving me alone and curious as to what Roluck wanted. When the last left, he looked up at the ceiling.

"That means you too, Anna."

"Yes, sir." Anna replied. "I'll lock the door behind me."

There was the metallic thump of a lock being engaged and then Roluck turned to me.

It was just me, him and four exhausted/injured soldiers. He sighed again before looking back down at me.

"What's wrong, Lena?" He asked.

"It's just...seeing everyone injured, time and time again..." I started, then trailed off. I didn't know where else to go with that statement.

"It's wearing on you." He concluded. "You're wondering 'If it's this bad, what will the war be like'?"

"Yeah." I replied. "All the injuries, the near death...and this is before the war's even started."

"But when the war begins." Roluck replied, "Truly begins, there will be an entire galaxy at our side."

He leaned back against the wall and gazed up wistfully.

"Companies, platoons, squadrons, fleets...all at our rear, jumping for the chance to get into the fight."

"Will it be enough?" I wondered.

"Well we can't all jump on brutes and behead them like you can." He joked, a smirk on his face, "But I think it just might be."

"Bosh'tet." I grumbled. I looked at Henry. "How is he, really?"

"Shaken up." Roluck answered immediately, apparently having predicted this conversation, "Whatever that artifact did to him wasn't pretty. He mentioned watching you die at one point in there."

"At one point?" I repeated.

"He was babbling most of the way here." Roluck told me. "From the report on Object Rho made by Commander Shepard, these artifacts are supposed to be able to sway the minds of dozens at a time over a brief period of days. Henry got it compacted into one session."

"You think he'll be alright?" I asked.

Even now, looking at him, I could tell that he was much more pale than usual. The dark circles under his eyes had deepened and his breathing was a little faster than that of the normal sleeping human. Even as I watched, he seemed to shiver and I heard a small gasp come from him.

_Keelah,_ I observed, a little bit scared, _What did that thing do to him?_

Despite the noises coming from him, Roluck smiled.

"This is Henry we're talking about, here." Roluck assured me. "If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that he won't let himself be taken by the Reapers."

Henry tossed again, letting out a small moan. Roluck looked at him again and this time, a worried clicking of his mandibles told me everything I needed to know about what Roluck really thought of Henry's plight.

"Maybe..." He hedged, looking up at the ceiling again. "Anna!"

The bark made me jump a little, surprised.

"Yes, sir?" Came a voice that reverberated aroudn the med-bay.

"Draw the curtains around Henry's bed, will you?"

"Right away, sir." Anna replied.

Slowly, a curtain started to wrap around Henry's bed. I looked at Roluck, confused.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do." Roluck said, "But I think you can figure it out on your own."

As he started to walk out, I slowly pushed myself up off the bed. I found my feet and even though there was extraordinary pain in my thigh, I managed to limp over to Henry's bedside and push the curtain aside.

This close, it looked even different. He was starting to sweat a little and his brow was drawn down in what was clearly worry. He was fidgeting in anxiety and I could nearly feel whatever the artifact had done to him rolling off in waves. I closed the curtain behind me. As small as these beds were, I didn't exactly have a big frame, so I was able to squeeze myself in with him.

He groaned, still clearly asleep. I hesitated, not sure how he would react, then simply folded an arm over his chest as I felt the drowsiness starting to take me again.

Slowly, he started to relax a little. The worry on his face eased up a bit and his breathing slowed to what I knew was normal for him. I saw the corner of his mouth lift. He just needed to know that I was here.

And that I'd always be here.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	47. Chapter 47

I woke up and for a moment, wasn't quite sure where I was. The sterile white around me was soothing, but foreign. It took me a few seconds before I remembered that I was in the med-bay. I slowly turned to see that Henry was already awake, gazing at the ceiling.

He looked...serious. Almost contemplative.

_That thing really did mess with his head._ I thought,_ Not even a joke as I wake up._

Henry glanced at me and seemed to try on a smile.

"Thanks for helping me through that." He told me.

"You noticed me?" I asked.

"Yeah." He replied, turning his gaze back to the ceiling, "It helped."

"What, exactly, did that artifact do to you?"

"Visions, confusion, whispering..." He started, "It invaded my mind. You, Elura and the rest of the team were the only things that kept me sane out there. I don't know how I would've fared against it alone."

"Visions?" I wondered.

"You really don't want to know." He told me. I huffed, annoyed, causing him to glance over at me again. "It's best that I don't share it with anybody. It...wouldn't exactly be a morale booster."

"It's me, Henry."

"I know." He assured me, "It's not an issue of trust. I just don't think anybody should have to see what I did."

I surrendered the point to him, then looked at my omni-tool. Six hours had passed since I'd gotten back to sleep and I was hungry. I checked the curtain and found that we were alone in here. Everyone else was up and moving.

"Did you get the news?" I asked.

"Yeah." He replied, shaking his head. "Four months...son of a bitch, I was hoping we'd have a little longer. Still, I guess it beats one month."

He seemed lost in thought for a moment, before he looked over at me and shook me with his arm.

"And how are you feeling?" He asked, "You looked pretty roughed up down there."

"I'll be back up and around in the next few days." I told him. "I swear Doctor Aline has improved a lot since I first had to come to her."

"We certainly owe her a lot." Henry acknowledged. He pushed himself up with a hand and looked around tiredly. "I'm gonna get down to the weapons bench."

"Another project?" I asked as he stood up and shook his legs out.

"A ton of them." He confirmed. "I'm looking at having to do a lot of upgrades for our new weapons."

"Well," I joked, "Don't forget about me."

"I don't think I can." He shot back with a grin, "Someone left some crutches here, to help you around the ship. I'd recommend using them."

He walked out of the med bay and I slowly sat up. I managed to make it to my feet and I grabbed both of the crutches. I was just about to leave when the door opened and Barin stormed in, holding another batarian around the back of his neck.

"Sit down!" He commanded the batarian angrily, throwing him bodily against one of the tables. The smaller batarian landed on his butt, his back up against the table. He looked indignant and terrified.

_What the hell is going on?_ I wondered.

I moved to stop Barin, but suddenly Roluck was there, coming between Barin and I.

"Family business." Roluck informed me when I gave him a questioning tilt of the helmet.

"Brother..." The smaller batarian started.

"We slaughtered your entire goddamn crew!" Barin seemed to roar, anger etched into every line and feature in his face. "You saw what we did to those pirates. Dozens dead in a matter of minutes. Is that the kind of end you want to your life?!"

"How I live my life is not your busi-"

"I REFUSE to leave my brother to die with a bunch of cowards, Herun!" Barin interrupted, slamming his fist into his brother's face. I could tell that Herun was confused by the sudden assault, but still seemed to hold his ground. "I may not be part of the Hegemony anymore, but I am still concerned for you."

"So you killed my entire crew for what?!" Herun demanded, looking just as enraged, "To make a point?"

I noticed Roluck shifting around uncomfortably. I could tell he didn't want to be here, but I had a feeling he was making sure nothing got out of hand. Barin and Herun didn't seem to notice either of us.

"Yes I did." Barin answered quietly, his tone slipping, "My point is that if you keep this up, your life will end the same way your crew's did."

"What the fuck do you care?" Herun snapped. There was no conviction behind the words, though. I could sense that Barin was winning this argument.

"Because unfortunately, you're still my brother." Barin growled. "And I will not see my brother dead at the wrong end of a gun."

Silence reigned in the room for a bit while the two men glared at each other.

"Now get down to the shuttle bay." Barin ordered him, "There's a well-connected human we need to meet with. I'll be down there in a moment."

Herun stood, glaring at his brother, but he still stalked out the door and towards the elevator. Barin watched him go before looking over at Roluck.

"Little brothers." He complained, shaking his head, "More trouble than the Reapers themselves. Thank you for the help, Captain."

"Not a problem. I know what it's like to have a little brother." Roluck answered, "What do you plan to do with him now?"

"The Lieutenant has some pretty good connections within the Citadel." Barin replied, "I've spent a good many years bitching about my people's obsession with creating so much conflict. If I could get my brother into C-Sec...well, it'd help the most powerful people in the galaxy see my people as something other than murdering slavers."

"Well," Roluck said, "Let me head down there with you."

"Alright." Barin answered, striding out of the med-bay with Roluck at his side.

I just stood there, a little confused.

_Well, that was sudden._

From what I could gather, though, it seemed as though STT Zeta had killed whatever pirates his brother was dealing with.

_Harsh love._ I thought to myself, _But then, I don't have a sibling. Maybe I don't understand._

I looked at the door for a moment, contemplating.

_Maybe I should go see Gin._ I thought, _He might have something I can help with._

I hobbled over to his little intelligence room, a crutch helping support my left side.

When I made it to the door, I knocked. It was something I had learned from Henry. On the Flotilla, there was no need to alert anybody that you were coming. There were very few doors keeping my people out of another's sight. Plus, with so many people living in such a small space, there were no secrets to really interrupt.

_I guess I can understand the need for privacy on board this ship._ I mused,_ I certainly wouldn't want people walking into my room when I'm trying to sleep or Henry's there._

"Come in." Gin's muffled voice instructed.

I walked in to find the little volus hard at work at his terminals, looking almost excitable.

"I see something has happened." I observed.

"Several things, in fact." He replied. "I've been getting sudden communication from the Shadow Broker, who seems to have shifted his-or her-attention to the impending war. In exchange for our information on the Reapers, the Shadow Broker is willing to have a dedicated group of agents to assist us in obtaining any useful intel to help us build alliances or forces."

_That is very useful._ I thought to myself.

The Shadow Broker was an individual (or group of people) that ran the largest intelligence and information brokering service in the galaxy. From what I'd heard, the Shadow Broker also commanded quite a loyal and large group of mercenaries for protection and for when information wasn't enough. To have the Shadow Broker assisting us was no small matter.

"That is very good news." I replied.

"Indeed." He answered, "I also have been keeping tabs on the reports filed by other Spectres. If I see anything that could be an advantage or that we can use, I'll be sure to let everyone know."

"You're a lot more useful than I'd originally thought." I praised, "No offense."

"None take, Clanless." He said, "Many underestimate my value. Though I must admit, I cannot wait to share this information with Enua."

I heard the slightest catch in his voice at the mention of her name. Even through the whirring and the wheezing that usually accompanied his speech.

_He seems a lot more eager to share his findings with Enua than I would've thought._ I observed. _Ancestors..._

"You like her, don't you?" I asked, cocking my head at him curiously.

"Why wouldn't I?" He asked. "I've been working with her for ten years. I have developed the highest respect for her-"

"That's not what I mean." I interrupted immediately.

There was a silence as the two of us looked at each other.

"Well?" I finally asked.

A click, a wheeze, then:

"What would you have me say, Admiral?" He asked. "Enua is one of the most beautiful and deadly asari I've ever met. She has skills that could rival a Justicar. I'm a volus. Not only a volus, but I run intelligence. I look at reports. Sure, I had my time as a combat engineer, but how could I possibly earn the affection of a woman like her?"

"So you're content to stay out of her sight, Gin?" I asked, surprised to hear him so morose.

"I'm content to help the galaxy survive to see the next solar year." He answered, his tone making it clear he was done discussing this. "I don't have the luxury of sabotaging my professional relationship like some of us aboard this ship. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to pass this information on to Captain Vether and Enua."

I backed out of there, reasonably sure that there was nothing I could say that wouldn't make this conversation turn even more hostile.

_Despite how stupid it is,_ I reasoned, _it's none of my business. I shouldn't have said anything. I haven't talked to Nesk, yet. I should see how he's adjusting._

I abruptly realized I had no idea where Nesk stayed.

"Anna." I said aloud, a little apprehensive about talking to the AI, "Where is Nesk, currently?"

"At the moment," anna answered, "Nesk is in Spectre Enua's quarters, speaking with Ilna and Enua. Should I ask them to visit you?"

"No." I told her, "I'll just head down. Thank you, Anna."

There was a pause, followed by:

"It is always my intention to assist, Admiral."

_That was weird._ I observed as I started towards the elevator.

When I got down to the shuttle bay, I found Barin, Roluck, Herun and Henry all in serious talks. Herun still looked angry, but Henry was speaking to him in low tones, with a very serious look plastered all over his face. Behind them, Eryc was leaning on the Mako with his arms folded, looking at Herun with disgust.

I shook my head as I turned around the corner and headed to Enua's quarters.

"-and that's when I stabbed him in the carotid with the dinner knife." Enua was saying as I walked in. Ilna was sitting on the floor, drinking some coffee as she listened to the asari Spectre. Nesk was seated in a small chair and was listening attentively. All of them looked at me when I walked in.

"Come join us, Lena." Enua encouraged, smiling. "I was just having a chat with Ilna and telling her some war stories. I know you have plenty of your own. Nesk was telling some stories about when he was part of the Blood Pack on Omega."

I stiffened in surprise and looked at Nesk, who seemed nearly...apprehensive. A rare expression, for a vorcha.

_I knew he was Blood Pack._ I thought, _But on Omega? That means it's possible..._

"What was that one about the commandos who raided your base after you guys tried to make a pact with the geth?" Enua asked, clueless.

I was shocked.

_This is one hell of a coincidence._

"It...was a couple years ago." Nesk hissed. "We tried to make a deal with some sort of talking geth to ally against the Reapers. Naturally, the boss wanted to betray the geth. So we were raided for our information."

"By who?" Ilna wondered.

"Well..." He answered uncomfortably, glancing at me. I gave him an encouraging nod. It was in the past. "There were five of them. A turian soldier, an asari biotic, a close range salarian, a human sniper and a quarian marine."

"That sounds like quite the diverse group." Ilna joked. But Enua had already reached the untold conclusion of the story. She was looking up at me with curious eyes.

"Did you know?" She asked.

"I had no idea." I told her honestly, "But it was in the past."

"Thank you, Admiral." Nesk hissed with a nod.

"Wait." Ilna interjected, looking absolutely stunned, "It was STT Zeta who raided them?"

"Did any of us shoot at you?" I asked, ignoring her question and looking at Nesk.

"Captain Vether did." He said. "He recognized me almost as soon as I came aboard. It was strange, for a turian to remember a particular vorcha. But he told me he rarely misses and that it was good he did, that day. He hasn't told Lieutenant Gerrard or Staff Sergeant Trenel yet."

_For good reason._

"So, Admiral," Enua started, looking amused, "I imagine you have quite a long list of stories that's pretty impressive for a woman in her mid-twenties."

I did have quite a repertoire, honestly. There was one, though, that stuck out almost as much as the Peacemaker days.

_The only time where I've truly wished that I could get my home back._

"Well," I said, looking around and taking a seat, "There was this one time during my two year hiatus that I was leading an op on Rannoch."

"Rannoch?" Enua asked, her eyebrows shooting up, "I wasn't aware quarians could get there."

"It's hard." I admitted, "But a quarian who served with Commander Shepard had some insights on stealth systems we were able to adapt to a ship. So we can slip a squad in every now and then, but only for reconnaissance. I was asked to lead the first team, as a newly-minted combat Admiral."

"So what happened?" Ilna wondered.

"Do you know what it's like to be the first of your people to step foot on your world in three hundred years?" I asked quietly, "Rannoch is more impossibly beautiful than the vids could ever do justice. I'd always had a disconnect with it, having never lived there myself. But to see it firsthand...it was incredible."

"So you were gathering data?" Nesk asked.

"Correct." I told him, "I was one of a team of four entrusted with this mission."

I could still see it in my mind. The waterfalls, the plains and the cliffs...it was a world that was beyond beautiful. I could easily see why our ancestors, despite their mistake, fought so hard to keep their world.

"Who were the other three?" Ilna wondered.

"Other...trustworthy Marines like me." I told her. "Our mission was of the highest secrecy. We couldn't just tell people that we'd been on Rannoch. There would've been an uprising and people would've wanted to go. We can't have that, not yet."

"And what did you find out?" Enua asked.

I still remember our conversation with the geth. Or, rather, a very specific geth.

"There was a geth there." I told them, "Yet another acquaintance of Commander Shepard. I believe it also might be the same one from Omega, though I have no proof. It told me that the geth are more open to negotiations than my people previously believed."

That had been so strange. I remembered bringing my shotgun up, prepared to kill the geth, until he told me to stop. I'd been so shocked that I'd halted in place. When the rest of the team had brought their weapons up, I'd ordered them to stand down. The conversation, though extremely wary, had been very hopeful.

"I bet the Admirals were excited to hear about it."

And that was the sad ending of the story.

"One of them was." I said. "The others were still all about going to war."

"No offense, honey." Ilna said, "But your people are stupid."

I felt a twinge of anger, but suppressed it quickly before it became a problem. I could almost see the problem from another's point of view, these days.

"Not my people." I told her, "Our leadership."

"It's always that same story." Enua agreed. "Speaking of which, how did you become an Admiral? I know you've seen more action than nearly any quarian in the fleet, but you're so young."

"Oh..."I muttered, feeling a little embarrassed. "It's not important."

"I sense a story, here." Enua replied with a smirk. "C'mon. Lai'Vael told us you did something impressive, but she refused to elaborate. Tell us about how you became Admiral and I'll tell you about the time I took a Yahg with only a Phalanx pistol."

"Well..." I told her, feeling increasingly embarrassed, "There's something like tryouts for the Admiral position. Candidates are selected and are put in simulations for commanding ships. Things are...different, for a combat Admiral."

"You simulate with troops?" Ilna guessed.

"No, actually." I told her, "Each Admiral has to take on a set amount of experienced, though not elite, Marines. We're dropped into different environments and shoot simulated rounds at each other. I was the only one to make it through the challenge."

"How many Marines did you go up against?" Nesk asked from his corner.

"See," I explained, trying to avoid the answer, "The Admiralty Board didn't really want me as the Admiral, but I had a lot of support, so they decided to use mo-"

"How many?" Enua asked, not at all misdirected.

"They weren't the most experienced Marines, though they were no pusho-"

"How many?" Enua repeated, a smirk on her face as her dark blue eyes drilled into me.

"Thirty." I finally answered.

There was silence around the room, followed by Enua's quiet voice.

"Goddess, you took down an entire platoon?"

I hated boasting, so on the couple of times this came up in conversation, I did my best to avoid putting a number to the story. For this exact reason.

"Well," I argued, "They weren't as experienced as me. Half of them went down from traps I set up and my shotg-"

"A platoon?" Ilna asked.

"There were a couple of close ca-"

"A platoon." Nesk repeated.

I gave up trying to explain myself. It had really been a guerilla-style fight, my trial. The Admiralty Board had been so angry when I'd made it through. Except for Admiral Raan.

"I only know a few Spectres who can manage those kinds of numbers." Enua said, "I don't even know if I can."

"Well, the Admiralty Board, for the most part, was not happy."

"Sounds like you've had to bludgeon your way into getting to where you're at." Enua observed with a grin. "And damn the consequences."

"I could care less about quarian politics." I said honestly, feeling a little heated. "I'm an Admiral to lead my troops and protect my people. The Admirals can go to hell if they try to interfere with either of those, as they recently found out.

"That's my girl." Ilna replied, a smile on her face.

"It's probably fabricated." Came a voice from behind me. I turned to see Krieg leaning there, a smug grin on his face. "I refuse to believe that you might be just every bit as badass as Gerrard."

"Bosh'tet." I accused.

"Guilty." He admitted. "Now, didn't you have a story to tell, Enua?"

"He's right." Nesk growled, looking at Enua.

Enua let a slow grin inch across her face.

"So, no shit." she started, lifting her hands up to emphasize her story, "There I was..."

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	48. Chapter 48

_No more missions lined up for the today._ I reflected. _Just the crew getting ready._

Two days after everything had been settled with Barin, Roluck had mentioned to me in passing that nobody had any missions they wanted so far. So he'd set the crew to work at improving the systems of the Vengeance and (for Henry) upgrading armor and weapons.

Which meant, that for a day, I had Henry all to myself. We hadn't had alone time in what felt like a month but was realistically only a week and a half. He was working himself to death and I was definitely in need of some stress relief.

So I'd settled into my room. I waited patiently for the decontamination protocol to finish before I stripped down, wearing something new and a little more alluring under it. These were both red and lacy, instead of the usual solid black. They were also a little skimpier than the last garments. Once again, the looks I'd gotten when buying these had been priceless, if a little offensive.

I'd sent Henry a message, telling him to come see me about something important. I laid down on my bed on my stomach, my face buried in a book that I wasn't really reading.

The door opened and I smiled.

_That was quick._

"Hey." I said, grinning as words apparently failed Henry, for once. "So about those important things...I think we can talk about them later."

There was the sound of a throat clearing behind me and I instantly reacted, throwing the covers of the bed over me.

_That isn't Henry._ I realized immediately.

I turned over, covered by the blanket, finding myself staring at an extremely embarrassed Roluck. His eyes were averted and his mandibles had gone into something of a twitching frenzy.

"I...uh...wanted to tell you we need you for a mission..." He muttered, "I'm...I...Wow, you look so much like a human..."

For a moment, he stared at me. Just...looking, I guessed. I knew how impossibly rare it was to see a quarian without their suits. Hell, I had a freakishly strong immune system now (For a quarian) which was the only reason I wasn't too bothered by him coming in, as far as contamination was concerned. Plus, with the decontamination protocols still running, Roluck would be just as clean as Henry.

"What the hell is going on here?" Henry demanded, walking into the room. I realized exactly how this looked.

"I...should've knocked." Roluck answered, "She's needed for a mission."

"Not for combat, I hope?" Henry asked, switching from 'suspicious' to 'concerned'.

I was still a little injured and wouldn't be able to move as quickly as I used to. I sincerely hoped I wouldn't be fighting this time, either.

"Not unless everything goes to hell." Roluck assured him. "She's going to be used as bait."

"Bait?" I wondered.

Roluck sighed and looked between the two of us.

"Eryc's sister was grabbed on a slave run." Roluck told me. "We're going to get her back. I want to plant you in their path and track you. Quarians are prime targets for slavers, these days. When you get to your destination, we're going to hit them hard. We'll shut those assholes down and get Eryc's sister back, as well as liberate anyone else who might be there."

"Eryc has a sister?" Henry asked.

"Apparently." Roluck answered with a shrug. "He's been supporting her with what little money he has made so she can get through flight school."

"And you came in here, why?" I asked.

"I...thought you should be told personally, since I volunteered you as bait."

"Or you were hoping to catch her like this." Henry accused lightheartedly, a smile on his face. "I know a girl on this ship who might have a problem with that."

He looked at me and I felt a grin pulling at the corners of my mouth. I knew exactly who he was talking about.

"Wait," Roluck interrupted, completely thrown off the 'commander' act, "who?"

"Not for me to tell, buddy." Henry replied, the smile turning into a smug grin. "She'd be pissed if I told you."

"Who?!" He yelled, trying to sound funny but coming off far more hopeful. He looked between the two of us before clearing his throat. "Sorry. I'm going to start working on the logistics. We should be ready to move in a half hour. Head on up to the passageway where the escape pods are. I'm sorry this interrupts your...plans..."

He shimmied around Henry, giving him a curt nod before walking out. Henry leaned out of the door and watched him go before turning back to me.

"He's getting worse." Henry muttered.

"Yeah." I answered. "Thank the Ancestors we haven't gone to a bar since our last visit to the Citadel."

"So what, exactly, did you want to talk to me about?"

I dropped the blanket I had wrapped around me and his eyes widened exponentially. The look made me giggle, despite myself.

"I...I find myself suddenly not caring." He said. Then he shook his head clear and sighed. "But, of course, we don't have time. I'm sure I'll be needed, too."

"Well," I told him, "With luck we'll have a break, soon."

Still, I stood, crossed the room and grabbed his hands in mine. For the millionth time, I noted that his hands had too many fingers. I didn't see how humans could be anything but clumsy with that many digits.

_Not that they don't have their uses._

I looked up at Henry and smiled, giving him a brief kiss.

"Now leave," I said, "I need to get ready for this mission."

"I'm getting dismissed?" Henry cried in mock outrage.

"I'll see you at the bridge." I told him, aware of his eyes following me when I turned around and started slipping on my suit. After a moment, I heard him chuckle and the door close behind him.

_Dammit._ I thought to myself miserably, _We need some alone time that's not on the ship. Like we had on Omega._

I smiled wistfully at the thought as I put the mask back on. I looked at the shotgun laid on the floor next to my bed.

_This has to end._ I hoped, _This whole thing has to end someday._

I sighed and picked the weapon off the floor before I left my room. I passed a couple of turians before I reached the elevator. It was mercifully empty. I was still extremely embarrassed by what had happened with Roluck and didn't really want to see anybody else for the moment.

When I arrived at the escape pods, I found myself looking only at Henry and Roluck.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"Well," Roluck said, "You need to get captured, first. They all know the details."

"How are we going to do this?"

"The problem is that we don't actually know where these slavers are, just what cluster they're in." Henry explained, "So Roluck and I have decided to stick you in the middle of a couple of systems out in dead space in an escape pod. We want you to continually send an SOS until the ship shows up. You're a deserter from the Migrant Fleet who stole onto a turian ship and was spaced. We'll be shadowing way back and we'll pick you up when you land."

"You better." I warned jokingly.

"I'm sure you can fight your way out, yourself." He teased. Roluck huffed, his mandibles flaring out.

"So when do I leave?" I asked.

"Now." Roluck answered. I involuntarily flinched, surprised by the answer. "The distress beacon is an extension of Anna, so she'll be able to upload herself to whichever ship snags you. She'll communicate with...herself...and...you know what? I didn't understand a thing she said, but the point is that we'll find you with ease."

"I assure you that you'll be safe." Came Anna's voice from around us.

I shrugged and was about to toss my shotgun into the escape pod before Roluck grabbed my arm. I shot him a questioning look that was lost underneath the visor. He still seemed to get the point.

"They're just going to confiscate it when they take you." He said. I conceded the logic to him and tossed the shotgun to Henry.

"I'll give it to Eryc." Henry said, "He'll probably get to his sister long before the rest of us."

"Okay." I answered, before climbing into the escape pod. "I'm ready."

There was something to be said that as I sat on one of the small benches there, I wasn't even worried about whether or not I'd get through this. The only question was how much abuse I'd be taking.

_Probably none._ I admitted. There was very little that they'd do to a quarian. If they wanted me as a slave, they'd be extremely reluctant to damage me in any way, since a suit rupture could kill me and end my usefulness.

"Do not worry, Admiral." Anna repeated over the speakers as my pod was fired with a jerk that slammed my back into the wall of the pod. "I'll make sure the Vengeance finds you."

"You haven't failed us yet, Anna." I assured her, "I doubt you will, now."

"I...appreciate the compliment." Anna replied, the words surprisingly hesitant.

_That was strange._ I thought to myself. _She has been making some slightly off comments, lately._

"Is there something wrong, Anna?" I asked her.

There was a long silence before the AI answered.

"I have been meeting with mixed reactions from the crew regarding my presence, Admiral." She finally said. "Some of them are openly hostile towards me, others are accepting."

I sighed, having hoped this conversation would be had with Roluck or somebody else.

_I'm a quarian,_ I reflected, _I'm hardly in the position to give advice to an AI when my people were driven off world by a bunch of them._

"And?" I continued.

"I do not understand their hostility." She continued, "I've done nothing to harm or even hinder them. I've only ever helped."

"A lot of people have suffered at the...hands...of AIs." I informed her, trying to stay calm over the somewhat bitter subject. "It leaves a bad impression."

"I've never personally done anything but assist you and the other crew members." She argued calmly, "Why should I be hated for what somebody else did?"

The simple question hit me harder than I'd expected. The question was incredibly naive, but was so simple.

I thought for a long time before answering, rubbing my hands together idly as I delved in thought.

"Henry once called it 'human nature'." I told Anna. "We call it Alis'ire. People are short sighted, irrationally prejudiced and few have the capability to look beyond themselves. We quarians believe that most of our problems can be traced back to Alis'ire."

"So most of the galaxy is irrational?" Anna asked.

"Yes." I answered, not entirely happy about where this was headed.

"Then what's the point of trying to save it?" She inquired.

I chose my next words very carefully.

"Because that's just one facet of life." I answered. "There are many good things that outweigh the bad."

"Like love?" She asked.

"Yes." I told her, "That's certainly one."

"Are you and Lieutenant Gerrard in love?"

_Keelah,_ I groaned, _It's like speaking to an inquisitive child._

"I know I love him." I told her, "And though he only told me he loved me once, in the heat of the moment, I believe he does, too."

"What else is there?" Anna wondered.

"Why all the sudden questions?" I finally asked.

"I wish to know what my processing is used for." She said, "I am committed to this team, of course. But I have no personal stake in this. I simply exist. I am. I wonder what will become of me when this is over."

"You're asking why you exist." I finally surmised.

"Yes."

"That, Anna, is a question we've all asked ourselves at one point or another." I told her, "And unless I'm much mistaken, no single person or entity has managed to truly explain it."

"I see." She said, sounding a little bit downcast.

_I'm almost wishing the slavers get here quick._

"Anna," I told her, "We fight to exist. We always have. We don't know why we're in this galaxy and we don't know why we fight so hard for survival. It's a paradox, but if there's no point to living, then there'd be nothing to enjoy."

"I see." She answered again. "You've given me a great deal to process."

"I hope you don't plan on spacing everyone." I replied, only half-joking.

"It would go against my programming." She answered, "If anything, this new insight may improve my relations with the crew and help me understand the organic mind."

She appeared on the seat across from me, the tiny holographic military woman beaming up at me.

"I appreciate your honesty, Admiral." She said, "Nobody else was willing to discuss this with me."

"Thanks, Anna." I told her. "And for what it's worth, when this mission is over and if we're still alive...I guess you could always live with Henry and I."

"A pet?" She answered, amused.

"A friend." I shot back.

The little Alliance officer hologram turned pensive, then seemed to perk up.

"There is a ship incoming." She informed me, "Electronic signatures match as a batarian slaving vessel."

"Good." I answered. "Is the Vengeance out of sight?"

"Yes, Admiral." She answered. "They are out of visual range and are currently engaged in stealth mode. I'll soon be disappearing to avoid alerting the slavers. I will alert you when I've uploaded and began transmitting to the Vengeance."

"Thanks." I answered. "And Anna?"

"Yes, Admiral?" She responded, still looking lost in thought. Clearly, her designer had imbued her with human expressions.

"When it's the two of us, just call me Lena."

"Thank you, Lena."

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	49. Chapter 49

The slavers had not...been gentle. While they hadn't punctured my suit, groping and fondling me on the way to my cell had been an activity participated in by pretty much everyone. Nearly every single one of them were batarians.

_Eryc's going to love this._ I thought darkly. _He gets to rescue his sister and beat a bunch of batarian slavers to death with his bare hands._

They'd eaten up the story and I had to admit, it'd been crafted with every single little prejudice in mind.

I was alone in a small cage that had been built amongst others in the cargo bay. I couldn't help but notice that I was the only one in a cage, meaning that this was probably a quick jump out from their base to grab me.

"We are nearing their base of operations." A small speaker near my head informed me, the voice quiet enough not to alert the nearby guard. I just nodded my confirmation, preferring not to be heard. "They are landing now. The Vengeance is en route to this location, ETA ten minutes."

"Thanks." I whispered.

"I'll upload myself onto your omni-tool, if that is acceptable." Anna said, "I am aware that organics would prefer company through this kind of ordeal."

"Please do." I answered. I heard a low hum from the bracelet around my arm, but it wasn't loud enough to alert anyone that there was a problem.

The door was thrown open and a couple of batarians strode into the cell with purpose, swooping down to grab me.

"C'mon, bitch." One of them grunted as they both hooked arms under my armpits and pulled me up. The one on the left didn't waste an opportunity to run his hand over my rear. I looked at him and gritted my teeth in anger as he squeezed.

"You're a nice cut of ass." He grunted in my ear, "I might just buy you myself."

_Keelah,_ I thought inwardly, _I hope I can kill all of these bosh'tets on the way out._

He smirked and helped the other batarian drag me out. I put up no resistance, preferring not to struggle so I wouldn't stress my leg. The wound wasn't crippling anymore, but it certainly hurt.

I was dragged off the ship and immediately had a hood dropped over my helmet. I was still completely limp when the batarians started to lead me, guiding me through the camp. I couldn't see, but I could hear. There was crying, wailing and the sounds of fighting everywhere. Batarians were yelling orders to each other and the prisoners.

I felt my hood torn off and found myself looking at a human in a small, cramped cell. The first was a brunette who looked like she'd been taken advantage of before being thrown in here. She was clutching a filthy blanket to herself as she sat in a corner, her fearful eyes on the batarians. I doubted that she was older than nineteen.

"We'll be selling you two shortly." The batarian behind me grunted, shoving me into the cell before closing it behind me. "Don't want you eating up our supplies."

As he left, I took the opportunity to look around. We were in a shoddily-built prison. There were dozens of people in here of all ages and species. I even saw another quarian, but did my best to hide myself from him. I didn't want him to recognize me and send everyone here into a frenzy. The floors were made out of stone and the walls were made out of weak-looking wood.

I paced around the cell, taking in the details as I went. I could see that this place, while terribly constructed, was only meant as a temporary holding area. I doubted that anyone spent more than a week here.

"There's no way out." Came the small voice from the corner. I turned to the young woman, her green eyes dull and her words thick with pessimistic conviction. "They come for you, sometimes, if you're pretty enough. Otherwise, you sit here and rot until they sell you."

"Who are you?" I asked, crossing the cell and seating myself next to her.

"Alicia, ma'am." She answered.

"Alicia..." I trailed off.

"Flynt." She answered. "Alicia Flynt."

I smiled at the coincidence under my mask, a smile that abruptly fell when I realized that Eryc would be coming here to find his sister like this.

"That's a familiar name." I told her quietly, "I know your brother, Eryc."

"Eryc?" She asked, the green eyes seeming to shine a little bit. I nodded my head. "How is he doing? Has he sent anyone to come find me?"

"He's doing fine." I told her. "And...I guess you could say he sent someone for you. They should be here in ten minutes or so."

"Thank God." She whispered, hope dawning on her face.

"Just don't spread it around." I said, "I don't want the batarians finding out before the STT hits."

"Okay." She answered, nodding. I could see tears forming in her eyes. "I never thought I'd get out of this. It's only been two days. They hate humans, so I was taken over a dozen times and...and..."

Whatever else she was going to say was cut off by sobbing. I didn't begrudge her the tears. She was a strong woman, to have gone through this ordeal with her mind intact. I grabbed her around the midsection and though she flinched at my touch, she didn't resist as I pulled her to me and looped an arm around her protectively. I calmly stroked her hair, praying to the Ancestors that I would get a chance to take a few batarians before the battle was over.

"You'll be alright, now." I told her, "Your brother is coming. Even if he doesn't, I'm not the Quarian Marines Admiral for nothing. You're safe, now."

We stayed like that for what felt like an hour as I comforted her. Eventually, she fell into a deep sleep. I realized that this rescue was taking too long. They were supposed to have been here, already. I was about to move, when my omni-tool suddenly lit up.

"STT Zeta is on the ground." Anna announced quietly. "And they have...a lot of help."

I smiled, amazed at how well this plan had come together as the sounds of battle began in the distance.

The explosions and gunfire slowly drew closer as the team undoubtedly began to make short work of the batarians. I would guess that the batarians numbered over 150, but they'd been caught unaware. Judging by the sound of it, Zeta had backup, as well.

The door to the prison burst open and a pair of batarians went flying through the air, surrounded with biotic energy. They slammed into the wall with dull cracks that seemed to reverberate around the prison area.

"Where is she!?" Eryc demanded. I looked down and was surprised to find that Alicia still hadn't woken up. Had she just passed out?

"Here, Eryc." I replied quietly. Eryc strode towards my cell and took in the view of his sister, who was currently curled up against me as I held her.

I saw only one emotion in his eyes: Anger. He looked her over, taking in her condition and audibly grinding his teeth together. I'd never seen the brooding human so angry. The big man turned to look at me. Even through his smoldering rage, I saw his gratitude.

As the pleading voices of prisoners started around us, he opened the door to our cell and tossed the shotgun and a few thermal clips in.

"Take care of her." He ordered. "I have to join the defense."

Only then, when my shotgun clattered against the floor, did she wake up and look up at Eryc.

"Eryc." She whispered, her voice filled with hope and joy.

"We're gonna get you out of here, Alicia." He said, "Don't worry."

She smiled up at him.

"I know you will." She said.

He gave me a quick nod and then he ran back out the door he'd came in through.

"Everyone listen!" I yelled, limping out of the door and quieting the clamoring voices. "I'm Admiral Lena'Zuril, Migrant Fleet Marines. We're staging a rescue, at the moment. Now, if you could all please keep quiet, I need to focus on defending this prison!"

The batarians hadn't planned this prison in terms of needing to defend it. There was one way in or out, leaving me with only one entrance to cover.

"Anna." I spoke into my omni-tool, "Would you be able to scan for hostiles?"

"One moment, please." Anna requested. I waited, then her answer came back. "Trying to detect heat. There are currently two hostiles approaching the prison."

"Noted." I told her, "Keep me updated if more start to come in."

"Roger."

I smiled at the human-sounding affirmative and waited next to the door.

It slid open and two batarians stomped in, looking furious. I realized, with no small amount of pleasure, that one of them was the same batarian who'd been groping me on the ship. I smiled as I stepped forward, swinging the stock of the Crusader up and slamming it into the back of the batarian's head. It impacted with a jarring thud, but didn't knock him out. He still went sprawling to the floor, allowing me to level the shotgun on the second batarian and fire. The Crusader cut right through his shields and impacted at his shoulder, tearing his arm off of his body. He screamed as his arm landed next to him and blood showered the floor. I sent the next shot through his chest, blowing a ragged hole in his body.

I turned to the second batarian, who was on his hands and knees, clearly disoriented. I staggered over to him, planted my foot below his ribs and kicked, flipping him onto his back. He managed to focus on me long enough to actually see me. I saw fear flit across his features.

"A nice cut of ass." I quoted, smiling. The smile lingered as I planted my foot on his chest, leveled the shotgun at his head and fired. His head pretty much evaporated into a mist of crimson and meat as his body went limp. I heard cheering from the prisoners around me and heard the door open again.

I spun to find another batarian standing there, momentarily stunned by the scene before him. I twisted, brought the shotgun up and fired, sending the shot through his abdomen. A large hole was blown through his gut and he hit the ground screaming as his pistol clattered away. I didn't bother to finish him, since he was unarmed and dying. Instead, I popped in a fresh thermal clip.

The door opened again and I raised my shotgun, hoping I could catch this one off guard, too. When the batarian strode through, weapon in front of him, I lowered my own weapon.

"Barin?" I asked.

"I had to see this for myself." He explained, looking around the prison. A sneer formed on his face. "This is disgusting."

I looked around and saw all of the prisoners regarding him with open hostility.

"You might want to make yourself scarce the next couple of days." I informed him, "Eryc's not going to want to see you."

"I don't like it." He muttered, his eyes zeroing in on Alicia and taking in her battered form, "But I can understand why."

_At least that won't be a problem._

"Another hostile approaching." Anna informed me.

"I'll take care of this one." Barin replied. I nodded at him, the gesture drawing cries of outrage from the surrounding prisoners. Clearly, they didn't trust him.

Barin put the assault rifle away and drew his powerful Paladin. Pistol in hand, he turned towards the prisoners, raising his weapon.

The door opened behind him and he turned to face a surprised batarian.

"Brother!" The slaver yelled, striding down towards Barin, "We have to go, we're being overr-"

His words were cut off when Barin grabbed him by the shoulder, jerked him closer and fired four rounds point blank straight through the slaver's abdomen. The batarian displayed confusion as he fell to his knees, then slumped to the floor. I heard cheering from the surrounding prisoners.

"Friendlies incoming." Anna warned us.

I expected Zeta to come through the door, or maybe some Alliance personnel. What I did not expect was dozens of quarians, my people, to come streaming in. I smiled as I recognized my Marines. One of them detached from the group as they began to sweep the prison, unlocking cells as they went.

"Ma'am." He began with a salute. The voice was familiar, as were the mannerisms.

"Zent'Alaar?" I replied in shock, still managing to salute back, "What are you doing here?"

"Well," He said, sounding a little more smug than I thought he ever would, "Our first class of Marines are graduating from training. So I got the rest of the training staff together and we decided to head on over here to assist you all. Sort of a way to field test our new training."

"Any casualties?" I wondered.

"Not a one." He answered, "We took them by surprise. They dug in a bit, but we were able to keep out of range and let Lieutenant Gerrard sort out some of the defenses. Once he'd taken out some of the batteries, we were able to finish the assault."

"Good work." I told him seriously.

"Were you ever in any actual trouble, ma'am?" He wondered, his body language informing me that he was amused.

I gestured to the batarian bodies on the floor. He looked at them and nodded.

"And that, ma'am, is why you're still the Admiral." He told me. "I've noticed your hand in several ops, recently."

It certainly had been. In my spare time, I constantly found myself planning the logistics and tactics of operations that came across to my omni-tool. So far, there'd been fourteen operations against a variety of targets and there had only been one death. For ground engagements, that was a sweep. Still, I didn't relish planning these ops. I wanted to join my Marines on one of them, eventually.

I looked around and Zent followed my gaze as we looked around. He spotted the imprisoned quarian as he walked out of his cell.

"You." He singled the man out, "Who are you?"

They began to talk as the rest of Zeta arrived. Everybody was unharmed, though Eryc looked like he was still ready to kill everything.

"Eryc!" Alicia yelled, seeming to finally understand that it was over. She rushed forward to meet him. Eryc shoved Barin out of the way as he pushed forward and they collided. Eryc picked her up in his arms and seemed to crush her in a bear hug.

"You're okay, Alicia." He said, "They won't be hurting you, anymore. Or anyone else, for that matter."

I looked across the room to find Henry leaning against the frame of the door, smiling. Roluck muttered something to him and he frowned. He nodded, but didn't say anything else.

T_hat was strange._ I observed silently.

Still, I watched as Henry approached and put an elbow through mine, letting me lean on him and take the weight off of my damaged leg. The rest of the Marines paid it no mind, either not caring or having already dealt with it.

"I want to talk to them, before we leave." I told Henry. He nodded at me and let me out. There was a large courtyard out here, with a bunch of barracks and smaller building clearly also used as holding cells. People of all races were being escorted out of the prisons by my people. I found an overturned Hammerhead and climbed atop it with a little bit of assistance from Henry.

"Marines!" Henry bellowed, "All personnel not assisting the prisoners assemble!"

"Thank you." I muttered in amusement. My Marines quickly began to gather, joined by the entirety of STT Zeta.

I looked around at my marines as thousands of them began to gather, Never before had I made a speech to a group this large, but most of them had never seen me in their entire lives.

_I have to make them understand what's about to happen to us all and what's at stake._

It was extreme, but I needed to drive a wedge between them and the Admiralty.

_Another piece._ I lamented, a little disgusted by the deviancy of what I was going to do. I activated a control on my omni-tool and connected it to all of the audio systems in the camp.

"I wanted a chance to speak to my Marines before I loaded up on my ship again and dragged myself across the galaxy. I know we've all heard some pretty bad stories about me." I told them all, my voice booming across the camp, "About my dalliance with a human, my irrational ideals, how I took down a platoon on my Admiralty test and how I spaced an innocent quarian when I last visited the Flotilla. Yet, I'm still in charge."

There was silence all around.

"Every one of those charges are true." I told them all, feeling uncomfortable at all the eyes on me. "I have fallen in love with a human man. I do believe that, if we want to win the upcoming war, we need to try to negotiate with the geth, rather than throw ourselves against them again and again until both of us are destroyed. I did take down a platoon on my Admiralty test."

The Marines were all still silent.

"And when I stopped the war with the geth a couple months ago," I said quietly, "I agreed to space one of our 'innocent' people directly against the Admiral's ship. This decision was made not five minutes after he sought me out and tried to kill me, despite us having never met before."

There was murmuring and shifting amongst the Marines.

"There is a war coming!" I yelled to them all. "Spread the word! Not just to your fellow Marines, but to everybody you can. Four months. We have four months until the galaxy faces the largest threat it's ever known. We cannot hide from it and we cannot fight it alone. If we throw ourselves against the geth again, we will be defeated and we will face extinction."

"The Admirals have long kept us out of the galaxy's affairs to preserve us." I told them all. "An admirable and understandable sentiment. Unfortunately, it has also narrowed our perspective and made us some of the most closed-minded people I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. However, this can no longer go on. If we want to survive this incoming invasion, we need the rest of the galaxy. And the rest of the galaxy needs us."

"I know most of you haven't met me or even seen me before." I spoke loud. "I'm not the only Admiral who feels the need to negotiate. Admiral Koris is with me. I know many of you see him as a coward, but I see him as a man who has a perspective many are unwilling to gain. Why go through the difficulty of understanding another if you can simply hate him? But if we can negotiate, who's to say we can't take back Rannoch through peaceful means?"

I glanced around, glad to see a lot of heads nodding at the wisdom.

"Today, I am not speaking to you as your leader." I told them, "I speak as a quarian woman. A proud member of the Flotilla and one who has sacrificed much for it. When this war comes, I can promise you I will be at the forefront. And when it comes time for us to do what we do best, I will be right at the front of our lines each step of the way. Because I could do no less for the Marines I am so proud of."

I gazed around at all of the visors. Their body language told informed me that they felt hope.

_Something we haven't felt for a long time._ I reasoned.

It was true. Though we continued to exist and had no immediate threats upon us, our existence was just that. There was nothing to look forward to, aside from surviving the next day. We needed something to hope for. Something to look forward to.

"I won't promise you that we'll all survive what's coming." I told them all, "I don't think any race is absolutely guaranteed to survive what's coming. What I will say, though, is when the Reapers come, we will give them a fight that no other force in the galaxy has ever given them!"

The entire camp seemed to roar and I heard more than my fair share of "Keelah Se'lai!"

"Keelah Se'lai." I replied when it quieted down. "Now, get those prisoners onto the ships and back to the Citadel. Then report to the Migrant Fleet. And don't let anybody forget my words today."

"Keelah Se'lai!" They yelled as one, before going back to their tasks. I glanced to my feet to see Henry extending a hand up to me. I let him help me down and found the rest of Zeta standing in front of me.

"A couple more of you," Roluck said, "And we may not need fleets and armies."

Despite myself, I grinned.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	50. Chapter 50

I woke, depressingly alone in my bed. I had been too tired for anything and Henry had been a long ways from finished with his projects. So I'd elected for a six hour nap, sure that something else would be coming up, soon enough.

A little less than two weeks and we'd bring down Vanguard. In the meantime, I was more than sure we'd be busy. I checked my omni-tool and found three messages on there. The first was from Councilor Sparatus, to my surprise.

_What does the turian councilor want with me?_

I opened the message to read the contents.

_Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance,_

_Though we cannot officially condone the STT's operations in the Terminus Systems, we were pleasantly surprised to find a dozen ships from the Migrant Fleet requesting to dock so that they could offload released slaves captured from a now-defunct slaver group. Given the usual state of affairs between your people and the rest of the galactic community, we are always pleased to see quarians helping around the galaxy, regardless of the location._

_I wanted to let you know that the STT will not be cited in this operation, merely the Migrant Fleet Marines. It will be something of a credit to you and yours' and will help keep our involvement out of the Terminus now, the freed prisoners are being processed and sent back home._

_The Council owes the Migrant Fleet Marines a debt._

_-Councilor Sparatus_

"Interesting." I muttered blearily, still shaking off sleep. I idly wondered if we'd ever make good on that debt. I opened up the next one to find a message from an Admiral Tali'Zorah.

I was a little bit surprised. The daughter of Rael'Zorah had become an Admiral? I was under the impression that she was a little too...controversial of a figure for a position like that. Not to mention the fact that she was even younger than I was.

_There's no doubting her proficiency in combat, though._

That was true enough. If I had to list a quarian whose combat skills neared mine, it'd be an extremely short list. Tali'Zorah would be on that list.

_Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Veangeance nar Rayya,_

_I have been informed that we are supposed to introduce ourselves to each other, now that I have this position. Given our reputations, I assume that it's an exercise in futility._

_I've heard rumors about your position on the geth and would like to let you know that in addition to Admiral Koris, you have my support. Your skill in battle is near-legendary here and your ability to intimidate the Admiralty Board is infamous._

_I have also heard you're actively working against the Reapers. I'm sure you know that I am, as well. Any assistance I can offer I will, for what little it's worth. I fear half the Admiralty Board's insistence on this war, despite the general dissent amongst our people. A dissent that I hear you're perpetuating, from what I understand of a large group of our Marines that recently arrived._

_By the way, I ran into your parents on the Rayya. A couple of Marines told them what you did at that batarian slaver camp. I don't think I'd ever seen a prouder pair of quarians._

_I would enjoy speaking with you, if it's not too much trouble._

_-Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy nar Rayya_

"Hmm..."

I'm definitely going to send her a message. I thought, I need all the help I can get, as far as the Admiralty Board is concerned.

I looked at the bit about my parents again, smiling through my exhaustion. I took another look at the rose, feeling tears starting to form.

_Keelah, I hope I get to see them again._ I thought.

I stuffed the emotions down and scrolled to the last message, surprised to find this one coming from Eryc.

_Ma'am,_

_Alicia told me what you did for her. I'm still horrified at the way she was abused. I'm certainly not blind to the ways of the galaxy, but I had hoped to at least shield my sister against it. She won't stop talking about you. I know it probably doesn't seem like you did much, but the little bit of comfort you gave her went a long way and I will never find a way to repay you._

_My sister will already be on the Citadel, in the Alliance's pilot program, by the time you wake up and read this. I'm planning to use my bonus (as being part of the STT) to pay for her food and board during the program. She's eager to start, which is rare for her._

_Which is why I want to apologize for my conduct towards you. Despite how I treated you, you did more for me than most have ever done. You won't be having any trouble with me anymore._

_-PFC Flynt_

I chuckled, the simple message warming my heart. I didn't fault him for sending a message, he probably didn't have it in him to be this eloquent in person. Still, as I got up and headed for the showers, I found a smile on my face. Things with him had been tense and I didn't need anymore trouble on this ship.

I showered up and decided to get something to eat before something came up. It seemed as though every time I tried to start doing something, a mission popped up out of nowhere.

Today was no different.

As I finished my paste, Ilna came barreling out of her room, anger written all over her face. She slammed her tray down on the table and began throwing cupboards open with a vigor usually reserved for those in the heat of battle. She grabbed some cans and threw them down on the tray. Then she dropped all of her weight onto the seat across from me and began eating.

"You know..." I started, "I'm not the best at reading facial expressions, but I didn't need all of that to understand that you're pissed off."

She directed a glare at me, but quarians could hold the most expressionless face, due to the fact that nobody could actually see our faces. She finally dropped her gaze to the tray and mumbled,

"My children's father is back."

"That's...good?" I asked, then saw her expression. "Or...no...bad?"

"I don't like to talk about their father." Ilna replied, "Because he's a criminal."

"Oh." I said, then followed that with: "But weren't you killing people for a liv-"

"It's different." She argued immediately.

I didn't touch that particularly special brand of logic.

"So...?" I drawled, aware that if I didn't pull this information out of her now, she'd become worse later on down the road.

"So he wants them because they're his 'legacy'." She answered. "He wants them so he can raise them to be little gang lieutenants, like he is."

"Wow." I muttered, leaning back. "So what do you want to do?"

_Like I don't know the answer to this one._

"I want to put a bullet in his head."

_And there it is._

"Maybe we can fix this problem without all that." I told her. She raised her eyebrows and scrunched them together, which I knew to be the human expression for incredulity and surprise. "Is he trying to do it legally?"

"Yes he is." She answered immediately.

"Which gang is he in?"

"The Eclipse."

"Has the agency contacted him, yet?" I asked.

"No." She replied.

"Well, your abhorrent taste in men aside," I told her, "I might have a solution. You're the expert hacker, right?"

"Yeah." She replied.

"Well," I said, "when I first started to take trips to the Citadel, my crew and I were given a map of sorts by Roluck that outlined the areas that gangs controlled. It gets updated every week."

"So?" She asked, still not seeing where I was going with this.

"So you get on that omni-tool, right now, and block any mail that the agency he's going through tries to send him. In the meantime, I'll send you an address. Then you send a mail from the 'agency' with an address that traces back to the Blood Pack Headquarters."

"Where he'll be torn apart upon entry." She concluded with a grin. "You are a brilliant little thing, Lena."

"I do my best." I told her. "I solve galactic problems in my sleep."

"I wouldn't go that far." Ilna answered, "You're no Enua, but you certainly make life aboard this bucket entertaining."

"I think we all do." I mused aloud, then looked at her. "So a gangster, huh?"

"I'd rather not discuss it." She informed me crossly, folding her arms together and glaring across the table at me.

_That's what I get for helping._ I thought to myself. If the woman was going to be so bitchy, I was going to take my brilliance elsewhere. I stood without another word and headed for the bridge. I wanted to see what Errahe was up to. When I got there, I was surprised to find Krieg with him, the two chatting idly.

"Ah, Lena." Errahe greeted when he spotted me. "Excellent speech at the slaver camp. Now if only you could fight, could be worthy addition to team."

Krieg and I laughed.

"I bet she could take you in a fight, salarian." Krieg grunted. "You're good, don't get me wrong, but she'll distract you with a long-winded speech right before shoving a shotgun up your ass."

"Bosh'tets." I grumbled, making both of them laugh. "How's STG Sigma?"

"Doing well." Errahe replied, "They've been doing a little tracking of Vanguard's positions. Ensuring another world isn't hit by surprise."

"They can do that?" I asked, trying not to let my eye be drawn to the missing piece of his horn.

"No." Errahe answered. "No they can't."

_Surprising._

"They rogue?" Krieg asked.

"Not rogue." Errahe answered, "On special assignment."

I couldn't help but notice that he described them exactly the same way that Roluck had described us.

"How's Bikir?" I asked the big krogan.

"She's growing to be quite the little hunter." Krieg answered, a grin splitting his face. "Took out a pair of varren yesterday. Went hunting with one of the newer krogan, Grunt."

"That's good to hear." I said, leaning up against the bulkhead, "I know-"

"Is that Lena I hear out there?" Allison asked, poking her head out of the cockpit. "I need to speak with you on a matter of urgency."

_I'm sure that whatever this is,_ I reasoned, _it's going to be stupid._

I stepped into the cockpit to find that she had dismissed the asari crew that usually piloted with her. I cocked my head at her when she seated herself, facing me. I hope the gesture came across as inquisitive.

"So humans have a tradition." Allison said. "One that every single person engages in every year on the day they were born."

"A birthday." I continued with a nod, "Ilna mentioned something about them, once."

Apparently, humans had a strange tradition where they celebrated the day of their birth every year. I didn't understand the significance of it, finding it both odd and morbid that humans celebrated the end of their life approaching.

"Yeah." She answered, "Well, Admiral Gerrard informed me that Henry's is tomorrow."

I felt my eyebrows shoot up in surprise. It may have been a human custom, but I still thought he would've mentioned it.

"I would've thought he'd say something." I muttered.

"I wouldn't say anything either." Allison replied with a shrug. "We're in a high-risk situation. I don't think he places his birthday high on the list of things that absolutely need to get done."

"And he's been working himself to death, lately."

"The entire crew has." Allison pointed out "It's been weeks since we've been in port and the stop we just made to the Citadel was just to drop one person off. We have no missions left at the moment and we're just kind of drifting towards Illium. I say we stock up on alcohol there and get Henry a gift while he stays and...something with guns."

"How about I keep him busy and you all go out and get him something?"

"What do you think he'd like?"

Now there was an interesting question. I honestly wasn't entirely sure what he'd want.

"Well," I said, "I really couldn't tell you. I know a lot about his past, but he doesn't seem to have any hobbies that I know of, besides...I got it."

"What is it?" Allison asked.

I almost said it aloud, until I remembered Anna. Henry could force Anna to tell him. So I leaned in close and whispered to Allison.

"He'd love that." She giggled, allowing herself to be caught up in the moment. "We could all have a party across the ship. Just spend one eight hour period to ourselves, since construction's been sped up and we're looking at fighting Vanguard by the end of the week."

"Wait, what?"

"Nobody told you?" She asked, looking surprised.

"I just woke up." I admitted.

"Well," Allison said, "His movements and the movements of his forces on yet another moon indicate that Vanguard's set to attack another colony in two weeks."

"So we're hitting him before he hits anyone else." I continued.

"Yeah."

"Good." I said, "I'm tired of all of this sneaking around. I want to take the fight to Vanguard, already."

"But first and far more importantly, the party." Allison said, "I've already run the idea by Roluck. He's all for it, says we should hang out near Illium and spend a few hours just relaxing. We can't do it on Illium, there'd be too many of us to keep track of. However, on the ship we can impose a level of order for those that we can't on Illium."

"I'm all for it." I told her, "Especially since I think we've got an excellent idea for Henry's gift."

"Then just leave everything to me." Allison told me, "I know how to throw a party."

_I don't doubt it._

"Then make your preparations, Corporal Shields." I ordered. "And who knows, maybe you'll finally catch the eye of a certain Captain while you're at the party."

For the first time since I'd met her, Allison was at a loss for words, her emerald eyes wide as she sputtered in a failed attempt to come up with something witty. Or anything, for that matter. I laughed as I walked out of the cockpit. I wanted to meet with my engineering team and make sure they knew that it was absolutely appropriate for them to relax and have some down time.

I walked the length of the ship, feeling the pain in my thigh as I did so. I was able to walk unimpeded, now, but it still hurt more than I cared to admit. I got in the elevator and headed down to the engineering level. When I arrived down there, I was surprised to find a complete storm of work going on, with Nesk's help.

"Nesk?" I asked, confused. His hands gripped the edge of the machine he was under and he pulled himself out from under it.

"Yes, Admiral?" He asked.

"You know how to work on ships?"

"I don't." He admitted, tapping an earpiece, "Risha'Zun is telling me how to do pretty much everything. But your people looked like they needed a few extra hands. The turians and humans are down here as well."

"Oh." I answered, surprised. "Thank you for lending a hand."

"My people have been a crust on the underside of the galaxy for too many years." He pointed out, sitting up and pushing his back against the machine so he could rest quickly. His wide crimson eyes stared up at me as he spoke. "If I can help out in any way that can improve my people's plight, I am more than willing to do so."

"Is that why you left the Blood Pack?" I asked him.

"Yes." He hissed, gnashing his needle-sharp teeth together, "Too many of my people worried about nothing but their next credit. Unwilling to sacrifice or do what's necessary for the greater good."

"Sacrificing for the greater good has always been a rallying cry of some of the most corrupt societies." I argued, crossing my arms and leaning against the railing.

"Do not presume, Admiral." He shot back, "I would give my life in a moment for our new government. We are saving our people. If this government doesn't work out, then how long will it be before we are overrun by somebody who wants our planet? Or how long until we just become a subservient race under the krogan?"

He stared off into nothingness.

"No." He answered quietly, "Despite our population, my people are slowly dying off. Clan Enute will save our species. And for that, I would die without hesitation."

I stood quiet, impressed by the vorcha's commitment.

"I wish to get back to work, Admiral." He said, snapping out of the daze, "If you don't mind."

"Of course." I told him, "Thank you for the insight."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"You can just call me 'Lena', Nesk." I told him, "You're not a quarian."

"You are deserving of the respect." He replied, pulling himself back under the machine.

I stood silent for a moment, unsure of how to answer that.

_Who would've guessed that our most reclusive member would be one of our most respectful?_

"Thanks." I said, before moving on.

Risha'Zun was in the midst of the action further on near the core. She turned when I approached.

"Admiral." She acknowledged with a nod, "I guess you're wondering what all the activity is about?"

"A little." I admitted.

"The humans and turians came together and managed to theorize a way to nearly double the power of the main guns while reducing the amount of power that's drawn, leaving more for the engine to work with. We talked to Captain Vether about it and he approved the project. We should be done in a couple of hours. So far, we've been successful."

"That's great news." I told her honestly, before moving onto what I came down here for, "Listen, only spread it to the other crew leaders and order them not to tell anyone else, but there's going to be a party tomorrow."

"A party?" Risha'Zun asked, surprised.

"Yes." I said, "We're celebrating something, but the crew also needs one final chance to relax before we throw ourselves into this fray."

"True." Risha'Zun admitted, "I know I've been on edge, lately."

"So tell the other crew leaders that the entire crew is able to participate." I instructed her, "Also order them to tell nobody about the party until it starts tomorrow. We want it to be a surprise."

"Yes ma'am." She answered.

I turned away, glad that the visor could hide my smile.

I've got some messages to send. I suddenly remembered, thinking of the message from Admiral Zorah. I need to handle a little business with my people.

With that thought, I headed back towards my room.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG**_  
_**Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated**_  
_**Urnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Ambassador**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	51. Chapter 51

I woke with a smile on my face as my eyes met the rose beside my bed.

I'd had a very nice, long chat with my parents last night. They'd told me about how much the Marines around the Fleet supported me and how proud they were of me. Then I'd talked to (as she insisted I call her) Tali. The woman was trying to move in some political circles of her own and even personally knew the geth I'd encountered on Rannoch. Things weren't looking good over there and I was already formulating a plan, which I wouldn't even let her in on.

I had simply told her: "Our species will survive, no matter what I have to do."

Allison had stopped on Illium last night, while Henry and most of the crew had been sleeping. We'd placed bulk orders of alcohol and food, to be delivered immediately. Then Allison and I had gone searching for Henry's present. It had been a little expensive, but everyone in STT Zeta (Even Barin) had chipped in credits for it.

The entire time, Allison had been asking oblique questions about how I knew about her fascination with Roluck. She hadn't come out and said she liked him, but she'd tried to be subtle. Of course, it would've actually been subtle had I not suspected the questions would be coming. I'd skillfully feigned ignorance at each question or simply deflected it.

I pulled myself out of bed and showered. Just when I started reassembling my suit, my omni-tool lit up. I looked down to find a message on it as I placed my visor over my face.

-START OF IMMEDIATE ORDERS-

-ALL VENGEANCE CREW AND STT COMBATANTS REPORT TO THE SHUTTLE BAY-

-LIEUTENANT GERRARD REPORT TO THE WAR ROOM-

-END OF IMMEDIATE ORDERS-

I smiled to myself as I walked to my room. I pulled a large, heavy box out from under my bed before leaving. I walked down the hallway slowly, not wanting to accidentally run into Henry and have to explain away what I was carrying.

I got to the elevator and had to wait a few minutes, since it was clearly being used by everybody on the ship. As I waited, Krieg and a few Alliance personnel joined me.

"I assume this is about Gerrard's birthday?" Krieg muttered, making sure the Alliance personnel didn't hear him.

"I believe so." I told him.

"I never understood the human fascination with celebrating their aging." He replied, "It always seemed a little morbid, to me."

"Me too." I admitted, "But we could use the break. It's been constant battling, diplomacy and preparation. We need some time before the big finish."

"Indeed." He grunted. The elevator door opened to reveal a number of turians, as well as Enua, who looked mightily amused.

"This oughta be quite the...uh...briefing." She told us as we boarded the elevator.

"We can only hope." I answered, baffling everyone around us as the doors closed.

We rode the packed elevator to the shuttle bay. I got out to find myself staring at every member of the ship packed into the shuttle bay. They were all talking excitedly, clearly swept up in whatever was going on and speculating wildly.

I noticed an older looking Alliance engineer trying to keep his guys quiet. Sergeant Kara, if I remembered correctly. He was the lead for the Alliance Armor and Subsystems crew.

As if on cue, my omni-tool glowed, informing me that I had a message. I looked down and read it.

_We're about to come down._ Roluck said,_ Let everyone know what's going on._

"Hey!" I yelled, only managing a voice loud enough to catch the attention of nearby crewmembers.

"LISTEN UP!" Krieg roared over the crowed, startling everyone. I glanced at him, bemused.

"Thanks." I told him, before looking out at the crowd. "Now, humans have a strange tradition where they celebrate on the day of their birth every year. Today happens to be Lieutenant Gerrard's birthday."

I heard excited muttering between the Alliance personnel, but everyone else seemed nonplussed.

"He hasn't even told us it's his birthday, but we have all been working very hard and we deserve a damn party before we fly off to fight Vanguard."

There were sounds of agreement from the assembled crew.

"Now, Alliance personnel, you know how this is all supposed to work, so front and center while I turn off the lights."

They started to push forward as I turned the lights off.

"Hey Enua." I heard Krieg rumble from somewhere in the silent and pitch-black shuttle bay, "We're going to play a game called 'Is That my Quad Touching Your Hand'."

There was raucous laughter in the darkness.

"Bite me, krogan." Enua growled, but she seemed amused by the dirty joke.

"-uard's got forces on Illium," Henry started as the elevator door opened, "it explains why we're orbi-what?"

I flicked on the lights and the Alliance personnel up front yelled, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

They started to chant some ridiculous and stupid song as the rest of the crew laughed hysterically while Henry's face slowly morphed between shock and horror. When the laughter and song had died down, Henry looked at Roluck.

"You son of a bitch." He threatened, trying to sound angry. "I should...should..."

"Listen everyone!" Roluck yelled to the crowd, completely ignoring Henry, "We have food and liquor available in the Mess for everybody on the crew. Now, I want a clean party. No fighting, don't break anything and no stupidity. If you have to vomit, you know where the bathrooms are. We have four hours to ourselves, then I'm calling the party off and we sleep it off. Until then, anywhere on the ship is designated a 'rest area'. Understood?"

Cheering filled the shuttle bay.

"Now," Roluck said, rubbing his hands together. I noticed him wince uncomfortably as a part of his hand passed over a metallic piece of the other hand. "I don't think we've embarrassed our resident sniper and battle-hardened XO quite enough, so where's Lena...ah, come on over here, Admiral."

I smiled behind the visor as I carved through the crowd. I reached the small clearing around Roluck and Henry and held the gift aloft.

"The entire STT tossed in money for this gift," Roluck informed Henry, who was turning bright red with amused indignation,"but our own Admiral decided on what it would be."

I handed the box to Henry, who hefted its weight before tearing the box open. His eyebrows shot up as he pulled a large tool kit out of the box. It came with every kind of tool that was needed to disassemble, reassemble and modify any kind of weapon or armor. It had been hard to find, but one of the higher end shops had it. They had been reluctant to let me in until I explained who I was and what my mission was.

_And Allison yelled at them. _I admitted inwardly.

"This is quite a gift." Henry admitted, sounding a little bit choked up. He looked around at the crew, "Thank you, all of you. You're the reason we've done as we-"

"Wait," Roluck muttered, looking down into the box, "There's something else here."

_What?_ I thought suddenly,_ I didn't put anything else in there._

Roluck reached down and pulled out a pair of black underwear that had a lot of lace and looked like it'd barely be able to cover anything. I recognized it as lingerie and I felt my cheeks begin to heat immeasurably. There was silence across the shuttle bay as Henry's face turned about as red as a krogan in a blood rage.

"The note says 'From your favorite pilot, for your favorite Admiral'." Roluck said, his voice about two hundred different kinds of amused.

There was more thick silence as I searched the crowd for Allison, who seemed suspiciously absent.

"Yeaaaaahhhhh!" Eryc yelled from the other corner of the shuttle bay which resulted in everybody, Henry and myself included, breaking down in hysterical laughter.

"Alright!" Roluck yelled over the laughter, setting the lingerie down, "Anna, start the music! four hours, everyone!"

People started to disperse as music filled the shuttle bay, smiles evident on every face. Some people congratulated Henry while still others started to head up the elevator in groups. We stayed there a while as we waited for everyone to properly disperse across the ship.

"I'm going to kill Allison, Roluck." Henry informed Roluck after the first few jokes were thrown his way. "I'm sorry, but we're hitting Vanguard with Lia'Vael piloting."

"She set this whole thing up, Henry." I told him, "You should thank her."

"Oh, great, you too?" Henry muttered mutinously. I looked on to find that some of the crew were using the shuttle bay as an impromptu place to dance, the lighting and music perfect for the activity. I saw Henry scowling and laughed, knowing that he hated dancing.

"C'mon." I said, tugging at his arm, "Let's go get some drinks."

I walked to the elevator, dragging him along with me. He looked embarrassed as a group of turians congratulated him on being closer to death. When the elevator stopped at the mess hall, I was surprised to find that Enua was already up here with a group of my engineers. She had a drink already in hand while my engineers were sipping alcohol out of filtered cups using straws. They were on the floor, cross-legged, as Enua sat on a table and gestured wildly with the drink in her hand. Gin was seated next to her, sipping on something through a straw.

"-and no shit." She was saying as a little bit of rum slipped out of the drink and fell on the table "The spring actually threw him out of the window and he fell forty-six stories before hitting the ground."

My crew whispered in awe and I saw Henry roll his eyes as he looked towards the bars up at the front of the mess hall, where there was food littering the tables. Food for dextro-aminos like myself and turians were here, as well.

Behind one of the bars, which was lined with bottles of alcohol, was Allison. She was gleefully mixing drinks for a crowd of Alliance and turian crewmembers that were swarming her little section of the mess.

"One for you...one for you..." Her green eyes glanced up to find me incoming, with Henry close behind. "Heeeeeyyyyy Henry! Did you like the surprise?"

"Kill you..." Henry muttered vehemently next to me.

"Make some room for the life of the party, ladies and gentlemen." Allison spoke, parting the crowd and allowing us through with a leering grin.

"Do you have any...what was it...bourbon?" I said, trying to remember Henry's favorite drink.

"Why yes, I do." Allison replied, reaching under the counter and bringing a small bottle of golden liquid to bear. "Some of the best, in fact. Not as good as that bottle of scotch he has in the shuttle bay, but a party calls for something decidedly less fancy."

She poured the liquid into a small glass and handed it to Henry, who accepted it with a scowl. Then Allison looked at me.

"Anything for you, Admiral?" She asked. I felt a growl slip through my lips involuntarily.

"Okay," I said, "Now we can kill her."

"Heyheyhey," She forestalled, holding up both hands innocently, "I don't see what's with all the hostility over here. Turian brandy, to make it alright?"

"Yes." I answered tersely. Allison grinned as she pulled out a sealed container of brandy, substantially larger than the glass Henry had, but also impossible to refill. She handed me a straw, which I then snatched up from her. I stuck the straw into the drink.

"And thanks, Allison." Henry muttered, quiet enough that he couldn't be heard by anybody else over the music and conversation, but loud enough for Allison to hear.

"Not a problem, Henry." She answered, grinning from ear to ear. "Now where's that meddling salar-ah! Errahe!"

Errahe walked over, looking grim.

"Meddling, am I?" He spoke quickly, "You're the one who insisted I eat that worm at the bottom of my drink."

"Oh c'mon, it's a human tradi-" Allison started, but I steered Henry away, losing interest in the conversation. I wanted to see what everyone else was up to. We headed for the lounge, next.

The lounge was mostly empty, save for a few people. Doctor Aline was drinking in a corner with Ilna, discussing their children quietly and laughing every once in a while. Both were clearly drunk. In another corner was a pair I hadn't expected to see. Risha'Zun had her arm around a turian with a grey face and white facepaint. Sergeant Valin, if I remembered correctly. Lia'Vael was drinking what I recognized as turian brandy, the quarian woman weaving slightly. The lead for the turian team. I smiled at the two of them as they sat with their backs to us, watching what looked like Fleet and Flotilla. It seemed appropriate, as it was a love story between a quarian and a turian.

"Hey Lena!" Ilna called from her corner, waving towards me. Risha'Zun looked over her shoulder at me and gave me a nod. I gave her one in kind and followed Henry over to Ilna.

"Lena." She said, "I was just discussing my problem with Aulra, over here."

"The one from yesterday morning?"

"Yes." Dr. Aline answered, a warm smile on the older asari's lips. "I rather approve of the tactic you suggested, Admiral Zuril."

"What?" Henry muttered, taking another sip of his drink.

I took a moment to explain what had happened with Ilna's children and her ex-husband. Henry looked amused through the whole story and when I finished, he looked down at Ilna.

"An Eclipse member, huh?" He asked.

"He was an asshole." She slurred in agreement, "I should've seen it from the get-go. At least it's sorted out, now."

"That took care of it?" I asked her.

"Absolutely." Ilna answered, "The moron wandered directly into the Blood Pack's HQ, demanding to see his children. The krogan there were apparently pretty damn confused after they killed him."

"Good to hear." Henry said with a laugh. "I hope you pick them better, next time."

"If you weren't taken, Lieutenant." She said, eying him, "You might've been picked. You're a little young, but you make up for it with experience."

"You'd have to go through her." Henry replied with an uncomfortable chuckle, nodding towards me. I felt anger, but tucked it away again.

"And I've seen her take down a brute." Ilna said, "I'll pass."

He laughed and led me away before any more damage was done. I was having a little difficulty standing, the delicious brown liquor having quite an effect on me. Henry noticed me stumble, from the way his arm tightened over mine.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Better than alright." I answered. "Let's go see what Nesk is up to. I've always wondered what vorcha do for drinking."

Well, when we asked Anna, she said that Krieg and Nesk were in the cargo bay, along with a few humans. Not liking the sound of that, Henry and I stopped to refill our drinks before heading down there.

When we arrived, we found a large table had been set up and some sort of card game was being played. There was a no-shit barrel of Ryncol next to Krieg, who was laughing uproariously at something Nesk had said before we walked in. Nesk had a brown bottle in front of him and I noticed most of the Alliance soldiers had picked beer, for this particular game.

Only one brave soul had picked a liquor.

Eryc had both arms around an Alliance soldier, both female. He was yelling at Krieg, his face red but amused, about how Krieg had cheated.

"Shut the hell up and drink, Giant." Krieg rumbled. Eryc grinned and picked up his bottle of vodka, taking a swig. "Lena, Gerrard!"

"I see we're having fun." I noted, amused.

"Judging from the slur in your voice," Krieg observed, "So are you."

"Who's winning?" Henry asked.

"He is." Eryc grumbled, pointing at Krieg, "Because he's a goddamn cheater!"

"Some games you just can't win with your fists, biotic." Nesk hissed. "Accept it."

"You heard the man...er...vorcha." Henry told Eryc. "You three try not to break anything or anyone, alright?"

"Yeah yeah, pyjack." Krieg grunted, raising the opening of the barrel to his lips.

We turned and started back, going through engineering instead.

"-is completely illogical!" I heard a guttural voice exclaim angrily from around the corner.

"Having a philosophical debate with an intoxicated batarian is equally illogical." I heard Anna pointed out calmly, "And yet I'm doing just that. What do you make of that?"

"And just what is this?" Henry wondered, coming around the corner. Barin glanced at him, all four eyes drooping slightly.

_He's so drunk._ I thought, amused.

Then I realized that I was just as drunk. I found it a little difficult to stand, my injury aside. Whenever Henry's arm left me, I felt a little bit unbalanced. As I looked at him, I realized that he was also starting to waver.

_We're lightweights._ I realized. _Then again, exactly how much time do any of us spend drinking while constantly in the middle of combat operations?_

"We are discussing the illogical functions of both organics and synthetics." Anna answered, "And how both make no sense. A discussion pursuant to the discussion I had with Admiral Lena'Zuril."

I nearly groaned as both Henry and Barin looked at me in surprise.

"That's what women do." I informed them, "Discuss fashion...men...the role of organic and synthetic beings in the galactic community and the meaning of life for both."

"You jest, Admiral," Anna told me, "But your insights were very well founded and extremely informative. Now I am attempting to gain other perspectives on the issue."

"And you want to do that while we're all drunk?" Henry wondered.

"I see your rationale." Anna admitted. "Perhaps I should attempt to discuss this at a later time."

"Finally." Barin said, throwing his hands up in the air and nearly spilling his beer. "Let me get back to my drink, machine-woman."

He stalked off, beer in hand, while Anna made an unnecessary show of watching him go. Then she turned to us.

"Is there something you need, Lieutenant?"

"Actually, yeah." Henry answered. I giggled as he narrowed his unfocused eyes at the little Alliance holograph. "I haven't seen Roluck around anywhere and we've been in the big areas of the ship. Where's he at?"

"He is in the War Room, Lieutenant." Anna answered. "By the way, I have considered the job Admiral Zuril offered me concerning my fate after the war and would graciously accept it."

I instantly sobered, forgetting all about the offer I had made to her when we'd been talking in the escape pod.

"What offer?" Henry asked, sounding a little suspicious.

"She didn't mention it to you?" Anna said, "I see. I'm sorry Admiral, it wasn't my place to tell him."

"No no, It's not your fault." I said, "In all of the excitement, it slipped my mind. Henry, I want to take Anna with us when the war's over. She can live with us and help run the house or something. I don't want her to sit on a defunct ship collecting dust or have her destroyed."

"I..." Henry started, looking surprised, "I don't see an issue with it."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Anna said, "I know it seems impossible, but I have developed a preference for this team."

"Just Henry when it's me and you, Anna."

"Then thank you, Henry." she acknowledged. "And you, Lena."

"Absolutely." I told her, "Now, we need to see Roluck before I give you the best gift of all, Henry."

"And what would that be?" Anna asked, looking between us curiously.

Henry's cheeks, already red from the alcoholic consumption, turned crimson. I laughed.

"Thank you, Anna." I replied, before turning Henry around and heading to the elevator. We waited in the elevator, which was abandoned, as we headed towards the top deck.

When we got there, I expected to see somebody there. Maybe Allison, who had finally come to her senses and made a move on the oblivious Roluck.

All I saw, though, was Roluck. The room was dark and he was hunched over the central terminal, scrutinizing whatever reports were written on there. He did, at least, have a drink nearby. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

He looked hellish. His face was cloaked in shadows, which called attention to his drooping mandibles and his slouched posture. He looked up as we approached, his green eyes briefly flashing solemn, right before he smiled and the expression fled his face.

"Roluck?" Henry asked. "What are you doing up here?"

"Reading reports." He muttered, looking back down. "A bunch of them on Vanguard's capabilities. Barin's ship wasn't the only ship that encountered Vanguard. Black box recordings and eyewitness statements are giving me an idea of how this battle's going to need to play out."

"Roluck." Henry said quietly, his words slurred but his concern obvious, "Come down to the party."

"You need to relax a little." I told him, "You're getting too tightly wound."

"I'll relax when this is over." He replied. "I'll have four months to relax."

"But you won't." I countered.

"She's right, Roluck." Henry mumbled, "You're going to sit there and stare at reports for four months then start fights outside of bars on the few occasions you actually do go out to drink."

Roluck just stared at Henry, then shook his head.

"I appreciate your concern." Roluck replied, "I know you're trying to help, but we could all very well die if I don't look through all these. Trust me, I'll be alright."

We stood there for a moment as Roluck watched us expectantly. Then Henry huffed and turned around, walking back to the elevator. I paused, wanting to say something to the lonely, overworked turian. I decided to try later.

_Maybe when I'm sober._ I reasoned, turning around and following Henry. I finished the last of my drink as I stumbled into the elevator. I ended up stumbling against Henry and we fell backwards into a heap on the floor of the elevator. I laughed and pressed the button for the crew quarters. As the elevator descended, we managed to pick ourselves up and compose ourselves.

"Who's down here?" He wondered.

"Me." I told him. I looked to watch a slow smile ease onto his face as he swayed. The door opened and I grabbed his hand, pulling him towards my room.

"But Admiral." He argued mischievously, "The party is still going on."

"We'll make a party." I growled, inputting the code for my door. When it slid open, I pulled him inside and shut the door.

"Decontamination protocol commencing." Anna's voice informed me. We waited impatiently until:

"Decontamination complete."

I quickly pulled Henry's shirt off as he gently pushed me into the wall. Slowly, we undressed each other, until there was nothing left between us. Henry threw me on the bed and jumped up on it himself, but I felt a nagging issue, something I had to drag out into the light. Maybe it was the drinking or maybe it was the discussion I'd had with Anna while in that escape pod, but I needed to know something immediately. Henry leaned in and though I could smell the alcohol on his breath, I could nearly feel the desire radiating from him.

"Wait." I commanded softly, every centimeter of my body crying out in rebellion to the words. Henry stopped whatever he was about to do as he looked up at me.

"What is it?" He asked, probably catching my serious tone.

"I want to know, before we continue." I said, "Do you love me?"

His rather feral expression softened and a smile stole onto his face. He reached up and ran a big hand through my hair.

"Of course I do, Lena."

"I want to hear it."

"I love you." He said, "If marriage existed with quarians, I would've asked you months ago."

I felt my heart pounding and relief flooded my entire body. Once again, could've been the drinks. I decided to push my luck a little further.

"We do have something like that." I replied, grabbing his other hand and playing with it, "Quarian couples can only have two children, to sustain the numbers of the fleet. As such, we will only ever have one bondmate."

He looked into my eyes, his blue gaze meeting mine.

"Would you be my bondmate, Henry?"

"Of course I will." He answered. I felt my heart fluttering and desire overwhelming me. I moved to kiss him, but he planted a hand on my chest and softly pushed me back down. I nearly whined in disappointment "But will you, Lena, marry me?"

My smile must've nearly split my face in half.

_In a million years, I never thought he'd ask._

"Of course I will." I answered, right before I pushed him off the bed and onto the floor. He immediately started to complain.

Until I joined him.

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Urdnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Urdnot Ambassador_**  
**_Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shutte Pilot_**  
**_Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**


	52. Chapter 52

I woke up, noting the tangle of limbs and blankets and pillows my small floor had turned into. Last night hadn't been a frenzy of sexual passion. We'd made love for what was the first time since we'd realized we cared for each other. It had been slow, it had lasted forever and it had been rapture for every second. I felt Henry sleeping softly beside me and wrinkled my nose a little, realizing he smelled like stale liquor. Then again, I probably smelled about the same.

That wasn't the only smell hanging in the air, though, much to my embarrassment.

I shoved Henry's shoulder and he snorted, the sound waking him up.

"Wha...what?" he groaned, seemingly unaware of he was. He rolled over and looked at me. "Oh, it's you."

He sounded disappointed. Disappointment that led to pain when I slammed the heel of my hand into his arm.

"Ow." He yelped, grinning as he rubbed his arm.

"Bosh'tet." I informed him.

"You love it." He told me.

"I...do." I admitted, guiltily. "Now come on. We've got to get ready to go save the galaxy. The first step is, I'm sure, taking a shower."

He sat up, pulling me up with him. The blanket fell from my bare body and the cold room might as well have been a blizzard. I wrapped my arms around myself, freezing cold. Then I felt Henry's arms curl around me, as well.

"And before I go, about what we talked about, last night." He murmured, "That wasn't just the alcohol. I meant it."

"I know." I answered with a smile, closing my eyes as I leaned in and gave him a short kiss. "Now get up, we gotta get ready."

"Yes ma'am!" He yelled mockingly, getting dressed and walking out the door.

"Have a good night, sir?!" I heard a human yell, out of view.

"I swear to Christ, Kala!" Henry yelled, headed down the corridor. I laughed as the door closed behind  
him and cut off whatever he was going to follow that up with.

I showered and started towards the Mess Hall. As I walked, I realized I was passing a lot of trash and junk littering the floors.

_This_ _is disgusting._ I thought to myself.

Sure enough, as I climbed in the elevator, Henry's voice sounded out over the entire ship.

"Section leads, bring yourselves and a third of your crew to the mess immediately."

I arrived at the mess to find Henry with his head in his hands, staring at overturned tables and trash littering the area. I fought a smile as Henry just stared at the mug of coffee he had enclosed in a fist. A plate of 'eggs' was set in front of him, along with some sort of strange, long meat. I got a tube of paste and screwed it in, deciding to take this meal on the go. I wanted to see how the rest of the ship was doing.

Henry gave me a significant look and then nodded to the med-bay, whose windows could be viewed from here. I was shocked to see Enua and Doctor Aline, both of them sleeping naked, both of them sharing the same surgery bed. I sincerely hoped it was sterilized.

"I'll never be able to get a bullet pulled out on that bed again." Henry grumbled. "Anna! Close the shielding for the medbay windows and lock the doors. Immediately."

"Affirmative, Henry." She answered. I watched the shields lowered and saw the interface on the door disappear, effectively shielding them from view.

"This is what happens when you have the galaxy's most dangerous and rowdy killers and soldiers drinking on the same ship." He muttered, looking up at me. "What are you up to?"

"I thought I'd check on Allison." I answered with a smile. "She seemed to be having a lot of fun, I'm hoping she and Roluck might've...done something...I don't know."

"A worthy cause." Henry agreed as I started sucking the nutrient paste down. "I'm going to continue to sit here and stare at my food until it becomes appetizing enough to eat."

I chortled as I walked away. As much as I hated playing matchmaker, Roluck was a friend. So was Allison. They both kind of needed each other and I had no doubts that Roluck held some sort of feelings towards her. He just wouldn't act on it.

When I arrived at the cockpit, I found Allison alone and smiling.

"Hey, Lena." She said when I approached, turning in her chair. "What's up?"

"You seem happy." I told her. "Roluck?"

"What?" She asked, looking surprised, "No. Eryc."

I now found myself surprised.

"Eryc?" I wondered. Allison just shrugged.

"It's not an official thing." She said, "We hooked up after Ilna and Sergenat Kala left. It's been a while since I've enjoyed myself and I'm not just going to sit around and wait for Roluck to do something."

"I don't think he actually knows to do something." I observed. "He's turian. Look at how stupid I was towards Henry, at first."

"It's not important." Allison answered, immediately dismissing the subject.

"Did Roluck even come down?" I asked. "I know Henry and I drunkenly invaded the War Room, trying to talk him down to the party..."

"I caught a glance of him once." Allison answered, "I think. He came down to get something to eat before heading right on back up. I don't think he talked to anyone, but I wasn't paying attention. Enua, Dr. Aline, Eryc and I were playing strip poker in the gun battery."

_Poor Roluck._ I thought sadly.

He was probably the most miserable one on this ship. I privately wondered what would become of him after the war was over. He really...didn't have much to look forward to.

I shook my thoughts away and looked out the window to find us inching towards a distant Mass Relay.

"Where are we headed?" I asked.

"Arcturus Station." Allison answered. "General Toulius ordered Roluck to head there. Admiral Hackett has our 'final mission', if you will. He's apparently got another surprise for us, though the boss won't say what."

"Roluck's been working harder nonstop since the project started." I said carefully, not trying to force him into a conversation with Allison again, "I'm sure we'll get through this."

"I don't doubt it." She said. She hit the mass relay and the ship jumped. That blue nebulae surrounded the cockpit's windows and Allison stretched in her chair.

"So you think you'll be prepared for this fight?" I asked Allison.

"I should be." Allison said, "I've been getting vids and specifications from the boss when he gets reports. I know Vanguard's capabilities and I know ours capabilities. I just hope STT Zeta is ready to do whatever you all are going to need to do."

"I'm sure we'll be fine." I told her.

"Alright." She answered, amused.

A message suddenly appeared on my omni-tool. It was from Roluck.

-START IMMEDIATE ORDERS-

-ALL STT COMBATANTS ASSEMBLE ONTHE BRIDGE IMMEDIATELY-

-END IMMEDIATE ORDERS-

"And...here we go."

We suddenly pulled out of the jump and found ourselves facing Arcturus Station.

The station was simply a massive disk, but with two outlying structures that stuck outwards, like the wins on the Alliance ships.. I looked at Allison to see her staring at it in awe. Clearly, she hadn't seen a space station like this before. The most impressive thing, though, was the number of Alliance ships milling about. I could see some of the more familiar ships of the Alliance Fifth Fleet, but there was at least one other fleet here.

No wonder Admiral Hackett retreated back through hre when Vanguard was chasing his fleet. I thought, Vanguard couldn't take on this kind of firepower by itself.

This was the place where the Alliance Navy was based. And not just them, but the entire Alliance Parliamanet. Their government. It was like a miniature human Citadel.

"This is Admiral Hackett." came a rough voice over the comms system. "Identify."

"This is Corporal Allison Shields of the SSV Vengeance." Allison responded calmly. "I'm bringing STT Zeta, authorization code six-eight-a-zero-one."

"Acknowledged." Came another voice, this one female and undoubtedly a controller at Arcturus Station. "Please approach docking bay d-163. There will be someone there to guide you to the Admiral."

"Roger." Allison replied. I heard the elevator open at the other end of the bridge as Enua and Henry walked out. Enua was still rubbing sleep out of her eyes, but she looked a little more level than she usually did.

We slowly drifted through the fleet as the rest of STT Zeta meandered up to the bridge. Roluck was the last down, sparing Allison a glance before turning to the team.

"Alright." He said, looking at us all. "I'm not sure what the Admiral wants with us, but I am very sure that we won't be seeing combat here. So pistols only, on this trip."

There was a lot of grumbling, but eventually we all managed to bring our heavier weapons on up to Allison, who promised to keep them safe. Then we boarded Arcturus Station.

On the inside, the station was surprisingly similar to The Citadel. There was an artificial sun and atmosphere, complete with clouds and even little spots of rain over the lakes. It was a lot like the Citadel's presidium, here.

I smiled to myself as I observed the surrounding view. The smile abruptly dropped when Admiral Hackett appeared, along with what looked mightily like a few reporters.

"Captain Vether." Admiral Hackett greeted, holding out a hand. I watched Roluck wince a little bit as he held out his cybernetic hand and shake it. Admiral Hackett gave the hand a quick glance, but otherwise made no comment. "Have I got an unfortunate surprise for you."

"What's that, sir?" He asked.

"Eden Prime." Admiral Hackett answered, drawing a collective gasp from our group.

_Eden Prime again?_ I wondered, _How many times is that place going to get hit by the Reapers?_

"All indications point to Vanguard heading over there to unleash most of his forces." Hackett said, looking far more tense than he had the last time I'd seen him. "We're talking over two thousand forces pulled in from around guerrilla attacks on the surrounding colonies."

"There's a place I hoped to never see again." Henry muttered.

"You were with the 212 when the geth hit it two years ago, right?" Hackett asked Henry.

"It won't be a problem, sir." Henry assured him.

"This is probably where Vanguard wants to start this war." Hackett said, while I eyed the reporters warily.

_What the hell are they doing here?_

"Then this is where we need to end it." I said, realizing that I probably shouldn't speak out of turn, but I was an Admiral, too. "Before it even starts."

"Exactly." Hackett answered with a nod. "And I'm bringing in the Fifth Fleet to do it."

"With all due respect, Admiral." Roluck started, "Wouldn't it be more advantageous to let us handle it? The Fifth Fleet will be needed soon. And you will take casualties if you fight Vanguard."

"We've got a plan." Admiral Hackett said, "We're going to harass Vanguard over Eden Prime while you all do what you do best. We'll use frigates and fighters and similiarly agile ships to avoid too many casualties. Once the battle on the ground is done, I'll have the Vengeance pick you up. Then we'll draw the Reaper back to Ainea, where we'll have the trap waiting. We'll keep Vanguard pinned down long enough for the asteroid to hit it. Then we drag its carcass back to the Council and show them what we've got."

There was silence as everybody mulled it over.

"That could work." Roluck admitted.

"I've been a Naval Commander for sixty-five years." Admiral Hackett growled, "I can manage to keep the Reaper from annihilating my fleet, trust me. The real task is going to be getting the Council to believe us."

"Which, I'm assuming, is why the media is here?" Roluck noted.

_Ah._ I realized, _I see what he's doing, now._

"Yes." Admiral Hackett answered. "We've got reporters from the Galactic News Network, the Alliance News Network and the Council Broadcasting Association. They don't believe a word I've said, but I've more or less forced their hands into coming with you. They're a good group, all of them have seen combat at one point or another."

_How does he callously talk about them like they're not standing right behind him?_ I wondered, _Also, did he just insult and praise them in the same sentence?_

I made a note to take classes from this man on diplomacy, one day.

"So before you rush off and we mobilize the Fifth Fleet, let me introduce you to them." Hackett said.

The pretty-looking human woman was a woman named Diana Allers, from the Alliance News Network. The rather stiff-looking turian named Raork was a representative from the Council Broadcasting Association. Lastly, there was a very easy-going salarian who was part of the Galactic News Network.

"Urre Imun." The salarian introduced. "I see Staff Sergeant Trenel back there. I don't know if he told you, but we worked together before."

"Indeed." Errahe answered from behind me, "You still jumping into combat zones?"

"I am." Urre answered, "I can see by your missing horn that you're not lounging by the pools with asari matriarchs rubbing your back."

"Yet." Errahe assured him, making me laugh.

"So get ready to go, Captain." Admiral Hackett commanded Roluck. "We're leaving immediately."

"Yes, sir." Roluck answered with a salute. The Admiral saluted him and stalked away. Roluck turned to us all.

"Well, looks like this is it." He said. "Let's get to the ship."

I fidgeted with the butt of my pistol idly.

_This is it._ I thought to myself as I entered our ship and headed for the cockpit to reclaim my weapon._ The final battle against Vanguard._

Of course, I realized that there were far more battles in store for me and the rest of STT Zeta. But our entire last few months ahd been building up to this battle.

_And on Eden Prime, too._ I thought to myself. _I better check on my crew, make sure they're ready._

And so, replacing my shotgun at my waist, I walked to the elevator. Everybody I passed was in a flurry of purposeful movement. Everyone knew what was at stake. I waited patiently in the elevator with a pensive Eryc. He didn't even seem to notice I was here. We rode the elevator down in silence until I let myself off at Engineering.

Risha'Zun was in the midst of my crew, giving concise orders to every single quarian. I watched for a time as she gave each person a specific job. I smiled and approached her as she finished rattling off a string of commands to the last crewmember. The she looked up at me.

"Admiral." She acknowledged.

"Are we prepared, here?" I asked.

"Yes, ma'am." She answered, "Everybody's got their specific orders and duties. Other than that, we've got this ship as ready as we can."

"That's good." I told her, then looked around to see Lia'Vael standing around, looking a little morose. "Lia'Vael?"

"I'm ready, Admiral." She replied immediately, "Kodiak's at one hundred percent."

"Are you alright?"

"When this is over." She said, "I'm not going to be able to go back to the Flotilla, am I?"

I froze, having forgotten that the girl was on her Pilgrimage in all of the excitement of the last few weeks. I had an idea and smiled to myself.

"You know." I told her, "We're going to be at war with the Reapers, soon. A quarian who brings data on the Reapers back to the Admiralty Board would be a welcome sight."

"I-" She started, her eyes wide, "I can't take that. That'd be yours!"

"Lia," I answered with a smile, "You've done a lot for us since we recruited you. Nedelas, Illium, Asteria and now Eden Prime. You've helped save a lot of lives. You deserve the data we get."

"Thank you, Admiral." she whispered.

"It's not a pr-" I started, before Lia's eyes drifted over my shoulder and she cut me off.

"What are you doing here?" Lia'Vael interrupted me, her eyes over my shoulder and her body speaking of suspicion. I turned to find that ANN reporter, Allers, standing in a corner with her eyes on me.

"Don't stop on my account." She said, holding up a hand, "I just wanted a little face time with the Admiral, if you don't mind."

"I guess I have a minute." I hedged uncomfortably. I looked at Lia'Vael. "Anything you need from me?"

"We're ready, Admiral." She answered. "Good luck down there."

"I don't need luck." I told the young woman, "I'm a Migrant Fleet Marine."

"Keelah Se'Lai." Lia'Vael agreed, turning away and heading back towards the drive core. I turned the the reporter.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Just a quick few words." The raven-haired woman answered, turning on the hovering camera with her omni-tool. "Nothing too long or intrusive. I just want to get to know the crew that has so thoroughly commanded the respect of two fine Alliance Marines."

"Oh." I replied, immensely relieved that I wouldn't have to tiptoe around anything. "What do you want to know?"

"I heard from Captain Vether that you're one of the six Admirals of the quarians." She said, "And that you command the Migrant Fleet ground forces. Is this true?"

"While I won't get too far into the inner workings of my people." I cautioned, "Yes, it's true."

"But you're only twenty-five, right?" She said. I nodded, "That's so young for that responsibility."

"Our Marines see strike ops from time to time." I explained, "But very few see prolonged combat like I have. In fact, only one other quarian in the fleet has combat experience that nears mine. It made sense to put me in charge."

"So you outrank everyone on this ship?" She followed.

"Technically, yes." I told her, "But I have no need to use that authority. Everybody on this ship has earned their place and is in no need of additional oversight."

"Now there have been several articles written about most everyone on this ship, you included." Allers mentioned, "How do you feel about that?"

"I...wasn't aware there were any articles." I admitted, confused.

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

"Twenty-five." I answered immediately. "Extremely young, for an Admiral."

"That's just a year younger than Lieutenant Gerrard." She pointed out. A smile formed as I thought about that.

"Yes it is." I answered. Apparently, something in my voice gave the reporter pause.

"Oooooohhh, I know that tone of voice." The reporter added in a conspiratorial mutter, "A crush on the XO, is it?"

"Wha-no." I answered, immediately off put by the question. "The Lieutenant and I are...what's the human word for it...dating?"

The reporter looked like she was going to have a heart attack, but managed to calm herself down. I really wanted to get out of here, now, but I didn't want to be rude in front of the entire Alliance.

"Don't worry, Admiral." Allers said, "I'm not judging and it does the Alliance and the galaxy good to see other species getting along so well with our own personnel. I bet you do get a lot of ruffled feathers, though."

I didn't know the human expression, but I could guess at the meaning of it.

"A lot of people are off-put by it." I agreed, "But we don't...particularly care."

"Now, stop me if this is a sensitive topic," The woman started with a smile, "I know quarians are treated with a level of suspicion and hostility by Council and Citadel races."

"We are." I agreed.

"How has that impeded your progress for your people?" She asked.

"It hasn't." I told her, "I don't typically interface with others beyond my own people. I'll sort my own people out first before handling the rest of the galaxy."

The reporter laughed and I smiled, glad that I was succeeding in coming across as reasonable.

"Now, one last question from one of our viewers in Montreal." She said, "There was a video posted on your extranet site a few weeks ago that shows you climbing up on the back of a gigantic...thing...and killing it with a point-blank headshot from a pistol. Was that real?"

"It was, unfortunately." I confirmed. "I was injured immediately afterwards and had to sit out the next couple of missions."

"Well," Diana Allers said, "You're certainly a strong woman and the galaxy should be glad to have you. Coming at you from the SSV Vengeance, this is Diana Allers."

The camera shut off and the reporter looked at me.

"I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."

"A bit." I told her, "But if it'll help morale, it's worth it."

"I better get down to the shuttle bay." She said, "I hear we have a batarian on the team."

As she happily rushed out of the engineering section. I sighed to myself, following after her.

_I should get down there too._ I admitted grumpily. _In case Barin...you know...kills her._

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Urdnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Urdnot Ambassador_**  
**_Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shutte Pilot_**  
**_Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**


	53. Chapter 53

"Dammit." I muttered, looking through the shuttle bay at Eden Prime.

The city we were headed for was wreathed in smoke. We hadn't seen Vanguard yet, but I could nearly guarantee it'd show up once we got involved. It didn't want a repeat of Asteria.

It was sad, to see such a beautiful planet of green fields and lakes turned into a frenzied warzone. The sun was starting to go down, much to the misfortune of everybody but the Reapers.

The plan for this defense was much different. We had one team in the Mako and two on the ground. Since the numbers in this battle would be greater, we needed our groups to be a little bigger than Asteria. We would find whatever was left of the Marines down here and rally the defenses.

"We may have to force them to leave the settlement." Roluck had said, "To move into a more defensible position. We'll find out when we get there."

I was in charge of a ground team consisting of myself, Eryc, Ilna and Enua. We had been specifically balanced this way since we had two close range combatants. While Roluck's team and mine would be deploying on the shuttle, Henry and his team would be deploying in the Mako.

I was the slightest bit worried about Henry. I had no problem seeing why he was so agitated. Eden Prime, after all, had been the place where his unit had been massacred. At least he was the only one going into this with baggage. Everybody else had a clear head.

I smiled wearily as we climbed into the shuttle.

_At least this is almost over._ I thought as I settled myself into the co-pilot's chair._ This part of the war, at least._

"We're coming in fast." Allison said, "I've got a big signature coming my way from the east 500 clicks out. I can only guess who that is."

"Acknowledged." Roluck said quietly. "Get us in there."

Allison swooped in and almost immediately, rounds started to bounce off of the ship's shields. I doubted they were even having an effect as we descended towards what looked like a small clearing in the middle of the madness.

"Deploying now." Roluck said. I saw the Mako speed off next to us as Lia'Vael pulled us out of the shuttle bay. Instead of dropping straight down, like Henry was doing, she decided to get a view of the battlefield, first.

"I'm going to borrow your rifle." I informed Roluck, pulling it off his hip. He nodded as I pushed the passenger's door open and positioned the assault rifle outwards. I heard the sounds of gunfire all over the city and the smoke was getting hard to see through.

I could see a black mass in the distance, sending what looked like tendrils of black towards the city. It looked as though the Reapers had set up a base, for whatever reason, outside the city. A camp, maybe?

"Roluck!" I yelled, "There are a lot more than two thousand of them!"

"How many do you estimate?"

"Five, maybe." I told him, before sighting in on a marauder scouting from a rooftop. I managed to put a trio of rounds his way, two of them dropping his shields and the third tearing through his neck and dropping him off the roof. I heard the guns on both sides of the Kodiak begin to open up as we scouted.

"I've got the commander here." Henry said, "What's the situation look like from above?"

"Lena?!" Roluck yelled in askance. I glanced around to see Marines who had literally lit anything they could on fire to construct hastily-made barricades. They were heavily outnumbered, but they were managing to hold, for the moment.

"It's bad." I replied, "They're outnumbered, but they'll hold for a while if the situation continues."

"The commander's telling me the Reapers are starting to pull back for something." Henry said, "We need you down here, we have to start planning immediately."

"On our way." Roluck acknowledged. "Allison, how're you doing?"

"I'm letting him chase me." she said, "I can keep this up for a few hours, as long as I stay out of range."

"Acknowledged." Roluck said, "You're doing us proud."

"Someone has to."

Lia'Vael guided the shuttle down to a clearing that had been barricaded off in a quarter-mile radius in all directions. I could see the Mako there and as the shuttle touched down, I noticed Henry speaking to a deeply troubled-looking Alliance Major.

"Somewhere between four or five thousand." The Major answered with a nod as we approached. "We've got about three hundred Marines garrisoned here and another hundred from the militia. We can't win this"

"When I was with the 212 here during the geth incursion," Henry started, glancing at our group before looking back at the Major, "Eden Prime held. We can do it again."

"You were here two years ago?" The Major asked, surprised.

"A story for another time, sir." Henry answered, gesturing to Roluck.

"You must be Captain Vether." the man said, shaking Roluck's hand, "I'm Major Donel, commander of the Eden Prime garrison. I'm sure you heard the numbers on your way here."

"Yeah." Roluck muttered. "The Fifth Fleet can't get here with Vanguard in the way and we need to end this battle quickly."

"I don't think that's going to be possible, Captain."

Roluck gazed around the embattled command center, then looked down at the Major.

"How many civilians are you protecting?"

"About two thousand," Major Donel said, "They're all-"

"Bring every man and woman out here for every gun you've got." Roluck commanded.

"But Captain..."Major Donel said, "They're non-combatants."

Roluck chuckled rather morbidly at that. I found myself a little surprised, but I could see what he was driving at.

"There are no non-combatants in this battle." Roluck said, "I'm sure you've seen what happens to the fallen troops."

"They...they get up and keep fighting, but on the enemy's side." The Major answered quietly. "I've ordered my men to either set fire to the dead bodies or blow them up as soon as possible."

"Exactly." Roluck said, "Now, I'm planning on going on the offensive, but we'll need all the troops we can get."

"These people don't even know how to shoot." the Major said.

"Make it quick, sir." Roluck said, "We'll give them a quick run-through and try to keep as many of them on the barricades as we can, rather than leading the assault."

The Major turned away, his mouth set in a thin, severe line. I watched him go, feeling conflicting emotions.

On one hand, using the civilians was disgusting. On the other hand, it was also completely necessary.

"Lena and Ilna." Roluck said, looking at me. "I want you two to infiltrate through the city and give me three routes. When you get back, we'll make the assault. I plan to have the Marines here push into the city with Henry's team reinforcing them and Lia'Vael doing supply runs and reinforcing when neccessary. Lena's team will head south while my team heads north. We'll skirt to the sides of the city and come around the back. When we have an idea of what their base looks like, we'll call in a frigate from the Fifth Fleet for an orbital strike. After that, those two teams will fold in on the Reaper's rear and start inflicting damage back there. Understood?"

There were affirmatives all around before Roluck looked at Henry.

"Let's go show the civilians how to shoot, while we have a second." He instructed. "Good luck, you two."

I pulled Ilna aside and we both headed for the eastern barricade. We mounted it to find ourselves with a decent view of the surrounding streets. I picked a street and gestured to Ilna before we bled into the darkness.

For what was easily over an hour, Ilna and I crept through the dark streets and plotted routes using our omni-tools. The resistance was light enough that we could slip through side streets and houses without having to engage Reaper forces.

The most disturbing thing was the lack of non-mutilated bodies. What bodies were lying in the streets and the homes had been set aflame or been mutilated to the point where they couldn't be taken by Reaper forces. The sight nearly made me sick a couple of times.

It was nearly ten minutes in when we stumbled on the body of our first child. We were in a house on the outskirts that had clearly been one of the first homes hit. When I saw her body, I couldn't even look at her; too disgusted by the sight.

"Ancestors." I whispered, dropping to my knees in front of the child.

"Oh...no..." Ilna muttered softly behind me, indescribable misery in her voice.

I looked around the room as I heard Ilna begin to vomit violently in an adjacent room. She was trying to be quiet, but it wasn't an easy task.

_I should...do something._ I thought to myself.

I'd known there'd be casualties, but to see a helpless child so brutally torn apart in front of me was another matter entirely. I looked around to find what had clearly been her bed before she'd...

I couldn't complete the thought, merely walking over to the corner of the room and pulling her blanket off of the bed. I gingerly placed it over her, tucking the sides around her prone little body.

"Thank you." Ilna whispered when she re-entered the room. "That was...it was the right thing to do."

"We should move on." I told her, hoping it didn't sound as cold as I thought. Ilna just nodded, following me out of the door.

"Do you think we'll actually be able to win this thing?" Ilna wondered quietly behind me. We threw ourselves into an alleyway as a brute turned the corner. We let it pass before Ilna added, "We're so outnumbered."

I chuckled quietly inside my helmet.

"Did you not see Roluck's face light up when he found out he'd get to apply some tactics in this fight?" I said, "We've got some of the best warriors in the galaxy and a tactical commander nearly without match. I'm sure we'll get through this."

I believed every word of it, too. I was an excellent guerrilla fighter, Henry was an excellent sniper and not a bad tactician, but Roluck had us both beat in the arena of planning and implementing complex operations.

She went silent as I helped her climb through a high window.

We finally got the call when we were in the middle of a small residential area.

"Infiltration team," Roluck said, "The Fifth Fleet has arrived and the Reapers are starting to stir at their base. You got enough intel?"

"More than enough." I muttered, watching a group of cannibals out of the nearby window. They passed by without noticing Ilna and I tucked into the corner. "We'll be back in ten."

We slowly made our way back to the base, successfully avoiding any Reaper forces on our way there. When we got to the barricade, I was surprised to find a bunch of civilians in a variety of uniforms manning it.

"What's the password?" One of them demanded.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Ilna shouted in exasperation, "Is it 'We're visibly sentient beings'?"

The rather uncomfortable man gestured to the civilians, who lowered their weapons.

"Thank you." Ilna muttered as she started to climb over the barrier with me right behind her.

We entered the camp again to find Roluck speaking to an irate Major Donel.

"-barely even know how to shoot a gun!" The Major was yelling.

"They'll do fine." Roluck assured him. "For now, we need to get on with the second phase of our plan."

"I'm still a little shaky on that." Major Donel admitted.

"Simple." Roluck said, "I'm going to have Lieutenant Gerrard and his team manning a Mako, which we'll use to reinforce your push through the city. Lena, show us what you got."

Ilna walked over to join the team at one of the barricades as Henry, Roluck and I followed the Major to a terminal. It showed an overlay of the entire city. I tapped on the omni-tool as I uploaded the information I'd gathered. Red blocks appeared in the streets where I'd found roadblocks or rubble blocking our passage. Any destroyed buildings were also marked in black.

Roluck studied it for a while, his eyes fixed on the overlay. The night sky and glow of the terminal lit every single line and crease on his face. I could almost see the complex calculations running through his mind as he just stared at it all. Finally, after a few minutes, he drew a breath and started talking.

"We need to move quick." He said.

"Major," Roluck instructed, "It would be wise to gather all of your Marines from all fronts and push through these streets."

Roluck indicated four streets that pushed out towards the Reaper base and had little to no blockage in them. Arrows followed whatever his talons touched.

"This route-" Roluck indicated it with another stroke, boldening the arrow, "Will be assisted by Lieutenant Gerrard and his team in the Mako. I expect to see the heaviest fighting here, since it is a direct path between the Command Post and the Reaper Base."

"Yes, Captain." The Major said. I could see the plan forming in his head.

"This area of the city back here," Roluck started, drawing a circle around a plaza at the opposite end of the city, "will house the rest of your civilians that can't hold weapons. Divert a fifth of the civilian forces to go with them and reinforce the area."

"Roger."

"The rest of the civilians will hold the positions currently manned by your Marines around the city. We'll slice one-half of your civilian forces at the command post and have them running supplies between the command post and the lines using civilian vehicles."

I looked down at the map. That left four hundred civilians holding positions around the city, nine hundred at the civilian camp, three hundred at the command post and four hundred civilians supplying the Marines. The three-hundred Marines themselves would be pushing through the bulk of the forces.

"And your other teams, Captain?" Major Donel asked.

"I'll have us pincer around the bulk of the fighting." Roluck said, "We'll encounter resistance, I'm sure, but it's nothing we can't handle. Depending on their base, we'll either call in an orbital strike or lay it down with explosives. With nowhere to retreat, we'll advance behind the Reaper forces and surround them."

"And obliterate the majority of their forces." The Major finished, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "We can clean up the rest later...this should work."

"It damn well better." Roluck growled. "I want you and three other civilians manning the Kodiak, with Lia'Vael so you can keep view of the situation and adjust fire when needed. She'll be doing supply runs and reinforcing the front lines when she can, but do not try to interfere with her. When your Marines push in, I want you to advance about a half mile away from the command post and settle in until we handle the base. Got it?"

"Yes, Captain." The Major said. We all tried our best to ignore the fact that he was getting ordered around by a turian he outranked.

"I'd get started, Major." Roluck said, "I've got to issue some orders to my own team."

"Got it." The Major said, turning away and barking orders over his earpiece. Roluck turned to Henry and I.

"Well." He said, "This is it. Lena, I'm taking Ilna off your team. She'll be riding atop the Mako on Henry's team."

"Understood." I said. I didn't begrudge the loss of the team member. Henry would be in the thick of the fighting and he honestly needed all the forces he could get.

"I...also want to assign that GNN reporter to you." Roluck added uncomfortably.

I looked at the thin salarian in pilfered black armor carrying a camera and looking highly anxious.

"C'mon, Roluck." I said, "He's going to slow us down."

"I don't doubt it." Roluck answered, "But he is the only member of the film crew on the ground. The other two are with Allison. His footage is going to be the most important part in the battle, as it's going to convince the Council that they need to move their asses."

I grudgingly gave Roluck that point. Though winning this battle was incredibly important, everything we were doing right now was to convince the Council of the Reapers' existence. If we didn't do that, then we failed our mission.

"I'll do my best." I said.

"That's the spirit." Roluck quipped, giving me a tired smile. "I'm going to take Barin off your team, Henry. I'll be giving you Krieg, in return. With the shotgun and Revenant, he'll be a tank all his own."

"True enough." Henry answered with a grin. "It might not be a bad idea to have Barin load up with whatever explosives he finds. You're going to need them if the Reaper Base needs exploding."

"True." Roluck said. He put his hand to his ear and started speaking to someone else. "Allison, how're you holding up?"

"I lost Vanguard around one of the moons, boss." Allison said, "I've got half the crew watching cameras. I'm making sure he doesn't sneak up on us or join the battle down there. Hackett's fleet is about half an hour out."

"That's my girl." Roluck praised, the human expression undoubtedly picked up from Henry. "Keep him occupied."

_Those two really need to figure themselves out._ I thought, _I don't know who's in love with each other more: Roluck and Henry or Roluck and Allison._

The absurd thought brought a grin to my face, but I stuffed it down when Roluck looked at the two of us.

"You know what we need to do." He said, "Let's get moving and keep me updated."

I walked back to the main barricade, where the rest of STT Zeta waited.

"Enua, Eryc, you're with me." I said. The asari Spectre and human Biotic both looked at me before hopping off of the overturned vehicle. "Good luck, everyone."

They all gave me a nod or an affirmative before I walked off towards Urre, the GNN reporter. The salarian looked a little uncomfortable, standing by himself with no idea what to do.

"Urre!" I yelled. The salarian looked at me in surprise and unease. "You're with us."

"The cameraman?" Enua asked, "We're really taking him into the thick of battle?"

"I have been on no less than twenty-seven battlefields and ship-to-ship raids." Urre answered immediately, the little salarian looking indignant. "I may not be able to shoot a gun, but I can keep myself just as safe as you can, Spectre."

A grin split Eryc's face.

"You might just survive this, little guy." He said. Then he looked at me, giving me a kind nod. "What are our orders?"

I explained the overall plan (and our part in it) to the three aliens. They all nodded along and stayed attentive through the explanation.

"Are we all ready?" I asked them after I finished my explanation.

"As ready as we can be." Enua answered, her gaze on me.

"Then let's move out."

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Urdnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Urdnot Ambassador_**  
**_Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shutte Pilot_**  
**_Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**


	54. Chapter 54

We'd left the last civilian-held barricade almost ten minutes and a quarter mile ago. We moved slowly, the darkness covering our advance. We'd encountered six groups of four to six ground troops since then, which had been eliminated mercilessly.

I poked my head around the corner of a burned-out building and looked through the dark alleyway, doing my best to see if there were any Reaper forces down that way. Enua, Eryc and Urre stacked up next to me. Small arms fire, explosions and the whine of engines all created a disturbing symphony to the south.

Two cannibals, one marauder. I noted, deciphering the three forms in the alleyway that were unknowingly creeping towards our position.. I withdrew my head and looked at my group. They watched me expectantly.

_It's amazing how far I've come since being a simple Lieutenant._ I noted proudly, before turning my mind to the matter at hand.

"Eryc." I whispered, "Put up a barrier. Enua, you take the cannibals out with your Vindicator, I'll handle the marauder."

"Got it."

"Urre." I said, "You take pictures."

He sighed in exasperation. We hadn't stopped making fun of him ever since we'd left the Command Post.

_At least he's taking it in stride._ I noted,_ Keelah, I would've just left the group by now._

I swung around the corner and felt a tingling sensation as a blue barrier enveloped me. The trio started to raise their weapons, but I felt Enua turn into the alleyway next to me. I fired the powerful Crusader, catching the marauder in the shoulder. With a blue spasm, his shields dropped as he stumbled backwards. I heard the chattering three-round burst of the Vindicator next to me as the cannibal to the left dropped. I hit a knee as the marauder recovered and fired again, this shot nearly tearing the marauder in half at the chest. The cannibal on the right was surrounded by a blue light and lifted into the air lazily.

I looked next to me to see Eryc happily lifting the cannibal in the air, a smile on the big human's face.

"What?" He asked, looking at me.

Enua shook her head and fired another pair of three-round bursts into the floating form. It went limp with a cry and Eryc let it slam into the ground with a wet slap.

Behind us, Urre was filming the whole thing. He'd been quiet throughout the entire ordeal.

_Probably because he hadn't believed a thing anyone had said about the Reapers._ I mused. _Bet he's rethinking it, now._

"Status update." Roluck commanded over comms.

"We're up to thirty-two kills." I announced proudly. "We're still not in sight of the no-man's-land between the city and the Reaper Base, but we're advancing."

"We're pushing." Was all Henry said as I waved the team forward and we advanced through the alleyway, "I've lost count of the kills, by now. The push is slow, but we've only had mild casualties. We'll be at the line, soon enough."

"I see Vanguard, boss." Allison answered, "He's headed your way. I'm going to head him off and start the chase again. Admiral Hackett should be here in fifteen."

"Good." Roluck said, "I'm still advancing, myself. We're up to twenty-nine. Let me know if the situation changes."

The line went dead and I cautiously approached the end of the alleyway. I pressed myself up against the side and peeked around.

"Bosh'tet." I cursed quietly.

All the enemies were grouped right where we needed to go. There were no less than seven assorted cannibals and husks on one side of the street, with a banshee on the other. Between them was a brute. They were marching this way, undoubtedly headed for the fight.

I turned back to the group, planning in silence for a moment. Then I got it.

"Alright." I said, "We've got seven husks and cannibals on one side of the road, a banshee on the other and a brute in the middle."

"Damn." Enua muttered.

"Banshee? Brute?" Urre wondered.

"Heavy units." Eryc explained quickly. "What do we do, ma'am?"

"Eryc," I started, "You're on the banshee. That thing has barriers and you have biotics. Just keep it away from us until we can put fire down on it."

"Got it."

"Enua," I instructed, detaching a frag grenade from my belt, "You've got the crowd. I'll toss this in before we assault, so none of us catch the shrapnel. I'll take the brute, since I've got the shotgun."

"Ready." She acknowledged.

I didn't waste any time, coming around the corner and tossing the grenade out. It landed almost perfectly in the crowd of husks and cannibals. There was a moment of surprise as I drew myself back into hiding. There was a sonic boom that nearly made me stumble before the three of us brust out of hiding.

The group of husks and cannibals had been torn through. The half of them that were still standing were a bit dazed. The brute locked eyes with me and roared, the roar nearly shaking the ground beneath my feet. I raised the shotgun and fired, tearing a chunk of metal right off his abdomen.

There was an unearthly shriek and the banshee joined the fun. I heard the small impact of a warp and then the thing suddenly disappeared and reappeared right next to Eryc.

"Gah!" He yelled, diving to the left. The battle continued as I heard the dull explosions of the Falcon being put to use.

I moved to the side, firing again as I heard the controlled bursts of Enua's Vindicator behind me. My shot caught the brute in the stomach, punching a hold straight through the brute. It bellowed in rage and suddenly dashed towards me, holding its arm up like it was about to slap me.

I dove to the side and it missed, nearly falling flat on its face as its weight carried it forward. I spun and fired again, catching it in the back. Another massive hole and the brute toppled flat onto its face.

"Shit!" Eryc yelled. I turned to find him being lifted up in one hand by the banshee. The banshee brought its other arm back, clearly about to impale him with its claws.

I raised the shotgun, my vision narrowing down to that one claw.

_One round left._

The shotgun jerked as I fired, but the spread of rounds caught the banshee in the hand, blowing it off completely. The banshee screamed in ear-splitting defiance as she dropped Eryc and turned towards me.

I hastily reloaded, but Enua had me covered as she fired the Paladin at the banshee. Rounds the size of a human's thumb erupted from the pistol and punched four holes in the banshee's head. With a hiss, the banshee sunk to the floor and stopped moving. For good measure, Eryc fired the Falcon into its face, the miniature grenade taking its head completely off.

In the relative silence, Eryc looked up at me.

"I owe you one, ma'am."

"Just Lena, Eryc." I reminded him. He smiled and gave me a nod.

_I've already forgiven him._ I complained privately, _He needs to stop being so damn apologetic._

I waved them on and we headed through another side street before finding ourselves in a wide plaza. I stopped the group and they waited as I looked ahead.

Reaper forces, maybe twenty or twenty-five marauders and cannibals, were headed this way through the plaza.I had no doubts they were also headed towards the main fight.I looked down at my belt to see four more grenades.

_I'll use one more._ I reasoned. _I need to save the rest in case we actually need to infiltrate the Reaper base._

"We got about twenty or so." I told the group, "Let's let them pass and hit them from behind."

"Back here." Enua waved, indicating a large garbage receptacle.

Humans make the strangest things. I mused as I followed Enua. We pressed ourselves against the wall and behind the receptacle and watched the platoon go past.

"Alright," I said, "I'll take the far end. Enua, you take the middle."

"Got it." she whispered back.

"Urre." I told the salarian reporter, "You hang back here and take vids here. You don't need to be in the thick of the fight unnecessarily."

"No need to tell me twice." He agreed, hefting the big camera.

I dashed out from behind the receptacle and started sprinting to the end of their lines, drawing the Talon as I went. I dived behind the wall of a fountain, popped up and fired into the backs of one of the cannibals. The pistol/shotgun blew a bloody hole in the cannibal that dropped him and I switched targets as I heard Enua and Eryc join the fight.

I fired three times marauder a little farther to the right, drawing four of the cannibals towards me in a group as the marauder went down. I flipped the grenade up over the fountain and took cover. A ground-shaking explosion informed me that the grenade had exploded and I popped over the low wall to find all four of the cannibals down. I was about to draw down on another marauder, but it was already aimed in at me.

_Keelah._ I groaned, preparing for the shot. I wouldn't be able to duck down quick enough.

The shot didn't come as the marauder glowed blue and was flung into the side of a building. I didn't even acknowledge Eryc for the moment as I switched to the Crusader and brought two more cannibals down with the powerful shotgun.

Just like that, the frenzied battle was over. Bodies littered the ground and I tried to mentally count how many we'd killed, so far.

_Twenty-four over here, which makes sixty-five, total._ I counted.

I smiled to myself, despite the brief carnage. I could see the clearing between the Reaper base and the city ahead and free of enemies.

"This is impossible." Urre muttered, shaking his head as he emerged from the shadows with his camera.

"All teams report in." Roluck commanded.

"Henry here." Henry replied immediately, "We're holding four blocks and letting the civilian barricades on the sides behind us take the overflow. So far, we've had heavy casualties advancing, but there shouldn't be much more now that we're just holding this part down. I'm acting as mobile command and support."

"And we're in sight of the clearing to the Reaper base." I told him, "We're up to sixty five kills here, including two heavy units."

"Good." Henry grunted, "Keep those damn things off my flanks and we might be able to hold."

"I'm in sight, as well." Roluck reported. "And damn, Lena, we're only at forty-six with no heavy units."

"I have a good team." I answered, perhaps with a little bit of smugness.

"You get all that, Major?" Roluck asked.

A pause, then:

"Hold on," Major Donel replied, "Patching."

"This is Admiral Hackett." Came the gravelly voice of the Fifth Fleet commander. "What's the situation on the ground?"

"Sir," Major Donel reported, "The STT is on the ground and they've assisted us in the push nearing the city limits. They have two teams that are circling around the majority of the fighting and dealing with the Reaper base of operations."

"That's good to hear." Admiral Hackett said, "How're your forces holding up?"

"I've lost about half of my men." Major Donel answered quietly. "The civilian fighters are taking very light casualties, my Marines are doing most the work."

"Civilian fighters?" Admiral Hackett asked, a warning tone in his voice.

_Well,_ I thought,_ he's angry._

"My idea, sir." I heard Roluck answer. "It was either that or try to have the Marines not manning barricades fight an enemy that outnumbered them a thousand to one. The civilians are handling supply runs and barricades away from the bulk of the fighting."

"Copy that." Admiral Hackett responded, still not sounding pleased. "We have a couple bomber squadrons here. Will that help with the base?"

"We need eyes on, first." Roluck said, "Then we'll let you know, sir."

"Copy." Hackett answered. There was a moment of silence, then, "I see the Vengeance pestering Vanguard down there. Time for the Fifth Fleet to lend a hand."

"Roger that, sir." Major Donel replied, "I'll let you know if there are any changes or if we need assistance."

There was no answer, but I looked at my group.

"We ready to press on?" I asked.

"Ready." The asari Spectre answered.

"I'm good." Eryc told me.

"Affirmative." Urre agreed.

"You don't have to pretend you're military, reporter." Enua informed him dismissively, "Nobody's fooled."

Urre glared at Enua, but he was ready. We crept forward, checking our rear to make sure that nobody was coming up on us.

"We're heading out of the city now." I reported, immensely glad that the night sky and the smoke was creating enough darkness to cover us across the field of waist-high grass.

"Copy." Roluck said, "I think I see you guys."

I looked to our right to see three figures far in the distance, crouching through the grass and covering ground swiftly.

"Let's get eyes on that base, huh?" Roluck said.

As we moved through the field, hundreds of Reaper forces moved between our two groups, headed for the city. There was nothing we could do about them, being too impossibly outnumbered by the groups to fight them. At one point, we nearly got spotted by a banshee, but the Reaper merely swept her wide black eyes over our spot before returning them to the front and continuing on.

We didn't emerge from the grass as we spotted the Reaper base. We merely waited at the edge of the grass, settled down into the prone.

The base was settled in what looked like a small research colony. All of it was above ground, which meant...

"Roluck, you seeing this?" I asked.

Eryc sneezed behind me, trying his best to keep it quiet.

"Sorry." He whispered.

"Yeah." Roluck answered. There was a moment, then "Admiral Hackett, can you spare those bombers?"

"We'll try." Admiral Hackett said, "I'll patch the bomber squadron in. "

"This is Lieutenant Erique." Came a human voice, "Where do I need to hit?"

Roluck rattled off a string of coordinates, then added:

"And come in from the west and start dropping about a hundred meters out from the target. You'll catch everything outside the city, if you do it that way."

"ETA two minutes." the squadron commander confirmed.

So for two very tense minutes, we waited. Suddenly, with a whine, huge explosions started to rocket our way, flattening the fields and all the Reaper forces in them. I heard cries of rage and anger as the bombers continued on their path right up into the research colony.

With a magnificent explosion that lit the night sky, the Reaper base of operations went up in a glorious torrent of flames.

_It's so beautiful._ I thought, rather morbidly.

"Thanks, Lieutenant." I heard Roluck say. "Could you see the situation in the city on your way here?"

"No problem, sir." The squadron commander answered. "And you're going to want to get back to the city fast if you want to get some kills in."

There was silence for a moment.

"Acknowledged." Roluck replied. From across the burning field, I saw him gesture to his group. "Let's go. We don't want the good Admiral to come out of this with more kills than we do."

_Nice try, Roluck_

I looked back at Eryc, Urre and Enua.

"They're trying to beat us back!" I yelled, "Let's go!"

We all shot up and started running. While Enua looked as serious as always, Eryc was grinning. Urre...I couldn't tell one way or another. I wasn't especially good with salarian facial expressions. The only thing I could see was a lingering shock, undoubtedly from having to face the Reapers after being so sure we'd been lying.

As we ran, I spotted a husk stumbling towards us, which I easily blew away with the Crusader. I could see the edges of the city and from what it looked like, there wasn't too much in the way of resistance left.

I ran towards a side alley, not wanting to be coming from the same exact direction Henry and his team were firing in. We ended up at the backs of two marauders, who looked like they were trying to edge around the flanks to ambush the main force. I fired my Crusader into the back of the first as Enua and Eryc took down the second with combined attacks.

I hung a left around the corner and we found ourselves amongst the main force.

Only problem was, the 'main force' consisted of only fifteen Marines milling about the area, with the Mako and Henry's team stuck in the middle.

Henry was sitting on the edge of the Mako, his face dirty and exhausted. I could see a couple of minor bleeding flesh wounds on his arms and sides, but he was more or less unharmed. He shot me a tired smile as I approached.

The Mako, unsurprisingly, looked completely undamaged, save for a few scuff marks, a couple of plates that'd need repairing and many scratches from rounds that had glanced off of it.

Krieg was yelling at Nesk, who was trying to patch up a couple of bulletholes in the big krogan. Krieg looked about the same as always: big, angry and about ready to rip something's head off. Nesk was completely unharmed, but looked a little bit stressed about having to fix up a krogan halfway out of a blood rage. Errahe was seated next to Henry, looking just as destitute as Henry did.

The Marines were wandering aimlessly, clearly not completely ready to get back to business as usual.

That probably had something to do with the mounds of bodies piled up in the streets. From the looks of things, the fighting here had been brutal. Some of the Marine bodies were so close to the Reapers that I had no doubts there had been hand-to-hand combat, here. Spent thermal clips littered the ground and some of the dead Alliance Marines had been shot in mid-transformation to prevent their conversion to Reaper forces. Bigger units had fallen over smaller structures and benches, draped on the dark streets grotesquely. Blood covered the ground and made it a treacherous walk to the Mako.

"Spirits." I heard Roluck whisper when he came out of an alleyway to the scene before him. I looked over to find his weapon loosely in hand. "This is terrible."

"Yeah." Henry acknowledged with a nod.

"How did this fight end so quickly?" Enua wondered.

"Pretty simple." Henry responded as I heard the Kodiak begin to descend above us. "Without regards to their safety, each firefight wasn't a ten minute affair."

"My God..." Major Donel said, coming up from behind us all. He looked as though he'd put in some work in that Mako. He was covered with anxious sweat and he looked completely drained of life. "Is this it?"

"I'm afraid so, Major." Roluck answered. I saw the pity in his face, a man who knew the ways of his soldiers dying around him.

"We've got twenty-six men across the line." Henry croaked, his usually bright eyes dull. I wanted to comfort him or say something, but there wasn't much to say. I simply walked over and took his hand in mine. He smiled at me, a little spark of hope appearing behind his eyes.

"Status report." I heard Admiral Hackett's voice demand.

"Sir." Major Donel said, "The battle here is over and we'll only be on cleanup from here on out. We've got ninety percent casualties from my garrison, fifteen percent with the civilians."

"I see." Admiral Hackett said. "STT Zeta?"

"We've got some nicks and scratches," Roluck reported, "but we made it out without KIA, sir."

"You guys have a real knack for securing victories." Hackett replied, "First Asteria and now this...Major, hold your lines because I'm sending a couple of battalions down your way. We've got Vanguard tied down over here and we can spare the help. Stabilize your wounded and focus on casualty control. The battalions will take care of sweeping the city."

"Thank you, sir."

"You all did a hell of a job." Admiral Hackett praised, making me smile. "Now, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander is on his way."

I remembered the name from somewhere.

_That's the same Lieutenant Colonel who helped in the aftermath of Asteria's attack._ I realized. _Does this mean Hackett is using the same forces for everything? He must not trust the Council, either._

"I'm coming in for a pickup." Allison reported, "ETA five minutes."

"Acknowledged." Roluck answered, looking around. His eyes fell on the Major.

"Major." He said, holding out a hand, "I'm sorry to leave you, but this was only the first half of our fight. It was a privelege."

"Thank you, Captain." Major Donel replied, "We won't soon forget your help. All of you were incredible."

The Major rushed off to help his men stabilize whatever wounded they could find and Roluck turned to us. I couldn't help but notice that even through his exhausted frame, there was a tiny flash in his eyes. The same as it was for us all.

I recognized it for what it was: Victory.

"Did you get your footage?" Roluck asked Urre. In my rush, I'd forgotten all about the reporter. Urre nodded.

"I did, Captain." He confirmed. "I'll definitely be sending this up."

"Hey Roluck." I said. He glanced at me, waiting.

"Sixty-eight." I told him, reminding him of our little game.

"We've still got round 2." He muttered bitterly, making me laugh.

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Urdnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Urdnot Ambassador_**  
**_Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shutte Pilot_**  
**_Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**


	55. Chapter 55

"Welcome back." Allison muttered as Roluck and I stepped into the cockpit.

When we'd gotten the pickup, there had been no words as we'd rushed up to the elevator. Even as we'd gotten in, I could feel the slight jerk that had informed me we had hit a mass relay.

In front of the cockpit was nothing but the blue fields slipping by, informing me that we were in the middle of a jump. Allison looked tense and the asari surrounding her were clearly exhausted.

_The effects of running around in circles with a Reaper on your tail for over an hour._ I hedged. _She must've been forced to pull out every trick she had._

"What's the situation here?" Roluck asked.

"That big bastard is right on our tail." Allison grumbled. "As soon as we're out of the jump, he'll be on us."

"What about the Fifth Fleet?" I asked.

"They're behind him, somewhere." Allison commented.

"You're doing good, Allison." Roluck said, patting her on the shoulder in a very human way.

"Thanks Boss." She muttered, "Now I just have to get us the rest of the way there."

"I have faith." Roluck replied.

"Captain Vether, sir, there is one issue." Anna spoke from my side. We both looked at the little holographic woman, waiting. "Some of my processors were damaged from a surface hit during the battle. I am afraid that I may no longer be able to fend off Vanguard's electronic attacks."

"Why weren't you overtaken before?" Allison wondered.

"The Alliance Fifth Fleet distracted Vanguard enough that I was able to counteract its measures." Anna answered, "However, once we're out of the jump, I will be overrun."

"Shit." Roluck muttered. "Do what you can, Anna."

"I'm...sorry." Anna replied, still at parade rest as she looked up at Roluck. I looked at the tiny AI figure in surprise.

_She really has come a long way._

"It's not your fault." Roluck answered.

"I'll counter for as long as I can." Anna replied.

"Dropping out of the jump in 3...2..."

The blue field suddenly disappeared and we were thrust in front of Ainea. The tiny brown planet looked so peaceful, as if unaware of the pitched battle that was being dragged through the jump.

"Incoming!" Allison yelled, jerking the ship to the side. A red beam flashed out from the side, slicing through the spot the Vengeance had occupied a moment ago.

"Trying to com-ate-sing-ower" Anna tried to say, her voice crackling in and out of existence until suddenly, the lights and power went out.

"Well." Roluck muttered, "That's not good."

Allison looked down at a reading on a small screen to her left as the crimson emergency lighting came on. The entire ship seemed to become darker, despite the 'lighting'.

"Anna's still up." She said, "But she can't hold the main systems. We need...we need the Fifth Fleet."

There was what sounded like a detonation decks below us.

"The shuttle bay." I said immediately, looking at Roluck for orders.

"Reapers are boarding the ship." He muttered. He looked at Allison. "The intercom working?"

"It's still up, boss." Allison replied. Roluck leaned over her and pressed a small button.

"STT Zeta, listen up." He commanded, his authoritative voice ringing through the ship, "Vanguard has us temporarily disabled and is having its ground troops board us through the shuttle bay. All crewmembers gather and all STT Zeta members either protect the crew or fortify whatever position you're in. Admiral Zuril will be roaming for mobile support."

"Well," I said, bemused, "Thanks for the warning."

"I need to protect the bridge." Roluck said, "With that shotgun, you're uniquely qualified to do some damage on the forces boarding this ship."

"I got it." I muttered.

"You'll be protecting me, Boss?" Allison asked, sounding a bit nervous. I remembered that she'd been at the helm when the geth attacked the ship a couple years ago.

"Navigation crew!" Roluck barked, ignoring Allison in order to draw the attention of the six asari in the cockpit and bridge, "Hide in the airlock corridor."

They immediately vacated their seats and headed for the airlock, which was impossible to reach without trudging up the bridge.

"You'll be fine." Roluck assured Allison, resting a hand on her shoulder. I noticed Allison reaching for the Katana shotgun she kept near the chair. Roluck looked up at me. "Lena, go."

"I'll keep in touch." I informed him as I made my way down the bridge.

_Keelah,_ I groaned, _We couldn't simply fly in here and get this sorted out in space, could we?_

I decided against getting into the elevator, though I doubted Anna had left it functional.

"Lena." Roluck's voice whispered in my ear, "Henry and Eryc need help in Engineering. They're fending off forces with the engineering crew."

My people. I thought as I skirted to the side of the elevator and opened up a ladder that ran between three levels. I slid down the small dark tunnel as quickly as I could, the sound of muted gunfire and small detonations occurring around me. I ended up before a hatch that was labeled Engineering Level.

I pushed it open and spilled out into the arms of the enemy. The Engineering deck had three main entrances from the elevators. I had dropped into the main corridor, right into a pair of husks. They both turned towards me, their perma-screams horrifyingly fixed to their faces. I made to bolt off the ground, when I was suddenly sprayed with grey goop.

As the two husks toppled to the ground, their blood soaking me, I looked around. The battle had just gotten started, so there were only six or seven bodies around me, most of them cannibals or husks. To the left, a desk and a couple chairs had been shoved against a doorway to create a small barricade. Henry was behind it, with Angel peeking out over the table with a smoking tip.

"A group of 'em went in there!" He yelled, motioning towards one of the other entrances of Engineering. "I've got most the crew in here!"

I didn't blame him for some of them getting through. If they had attacked in large numbers, there was probably only so much he could do.

Besides, I thought to myself, He's saving most of my people.

I rushed into the door on my left and found myself right behind a marauder. I fired into his back point blank, nearly cutting him in two. The marauder fell to the ground and I stepped over him easily, opening the door.

A broken husk body went flying past me, slamming into the bulkhead so hard that I heard bones crunching. I moved into the room to see Eryc turning to face another pair of husks. They both swung at him.

While the husks were stronger than the average human they'd come from, they weren't anywhere near the size of Eryc. Eryc sidestepped the first swing while kicking the other husk in the gut, sending it falling backwards. He reached around and slammed a biotic-powered fist through the face of the first husk and advanced on the second. He was out of my sight and I heard gunfire farther down the corridor, close to the drive core. I dashed in that direction and rounded a corner to find quite the sight in front of me.

Lia'Vael, our shuttle pilot, was armed with only a pistol, but was making use of it. There was a cannibal already dead at her feet and she was facing down a pair of husks in the opposite direction as myself. She fired through the first with a trio of rounds, sending it to the ground. She didn't notice the marauder drop from the pipes overhead, behind her. But I did. I sprinted forward as he brought up his gun to shoot her in the back.

I let out a cry as I brought the stock of the shotgun up with my elbow. The stock slammed into the side of the marauder's head and sent him staggering towards the railing. I brought the shotgun level and fired two shots into the marauder's chest, knocking him over the railing and onto the ground below, dead.

Lia'Vael turned to me, surprise written all over her body.

"Thanks for that, Admiral." She said, "I'm trying to hold the drive core with PFC Flynt while the Lieutenant keeps the others safe."

"You're doing a great job." I told Lia'Vael, "Just stay close to Eryc, he'll get you through it."

"Yes, ma'am." She answered.

I gave her a nod of the head and spoke into my earpiece.

"Roluck." I reported, "Engineering is clear for the moment. Where is the pressure?"

"Med-Bay and the weapon battery are taking a serious hit." He answered immediately. "Nesk and Barin are holding the weapon battery while Krieg is in the med-bay. Might want to help Krieg out, since he was there to get bullets taken out and might not be too light on his feet."

"On my way." I told him. I walked through engineering, searching for a service exit. I found a hatch near a grateful-looking Eryc and opened it up.

"Good luck, Lena." He told me, finally using my name. I couldn't see his expression behind his helmet, but it still made me smile.

"You too." I told him, pulling myself up onto the ladder. I climbed the bars, darkness nearly stifling me. I heard a lot more gunfire from the crew deck than I had in Engineering. I found the hatch and made the decision to peek through this one before just jumping out.

The crew deck was infested with marauders and cannibals spread out and behind whatever they could use for cover. Barin and Nesk were both keeping the ranged combatants at bay. I could hear the rattle of Nesk's Tempest as the precise and powerful shots of Barin's Mattock rang out over the crew deck.

I slid out of the hatch and moved to the right, pulling the Talon. I didn't want the Crusader out here; it would be noisy and attract way too much attention.

I rounded the corner, managing to avoid the fight completely and head for the medbay, whose windows had been sealed with shutters.

_Good job, Anna._ I praised silently as I opened the door.

The door to the AI core, which was at the end of the med-bay, had been closed. I had no doubt that Dr. Aline and the medical staff were in there. I didn't doubt that there simply hadn't been time to seal the door to the medbay before enemies had come in. At least a dozen husks lay on the floor, as well as a pair of cannibals.

With a mighty roar, Krieg slammed a marauder into the wall, crushing the former turian under his bulk. From the look of his armor, the amount of orange blood covering him and the wounds I could see, he was heavily wounded. A marauder across from him opened fire on the big krogan's back. Clearly, Krieg's shields had been worn down, because while the first couple of rounds skipped off his armor, the next few penetrated his shoulder and neck and sent orange blood splashing all over the bulkhead. Krieg roared and turned, spraying the marauder down with his Revenant (Which always seemed more of a machine gun to me than an assault rifle) as he fell to the ground on his back, badly wounded.

This all happened too quickly for me to react, but I did see a pair of cannibals shoot up from behind a bed in front of me and approach Krieg, bringing up their weapons.

I ran again, firing wildly into the cannibal on the left. Two rounds hit the cannibal, the buck shot tearing it apart. I jumped forward, tackling the other one. We both hit the ground and rolled, with me ending up on top of the cannibal. It roared, all four of its glowing blue eyes locked on me. I shoved the barrel of my pistol into its mouth and pulled the trigger, blowing its head apart.

I took a breath and stood, slamming my hand on the door to the AI Core.

"Doctor Aline!" I yelled, "It's Lena! We're clear in here, but Krieg needs help. I'm headed out. Seal the door behind me!"

The door opened, revealing Dr. Aline and her three salarian medical assistants.

"Saved by a quarian." Krieg groaned on the floor, his blood red eyes on me. "Ancestors, I'll never hear the end of it."

"Take it easy, Krieg." Dr. Aline said, her usual terse voice soft as her blue eyes gazed at the big krogan. "You saved our lives, the least I can do is patch you up. Nelle, seal the door behind the Admiral! You two, come over here and help me with Krieg!"

Everyone moved at once and I started for the door.

"And put on some damn helmets!" I yelled, "We're not exactly stable, right now!"

I opened the comms channel with Roluck.

"Krieg's hit bad." I reported into my comms unit, "But Dr. Aline is taking care of him and I'm having the medical team seal the med-bay behind me. I'm headed for the gun, next"

"Affi-dammit!" Roluck yelled, his voice cut over by gunfire. "Allison, get that damn cannibal!"

I ignored the chatter and left the medbay, headed back out to the main crew deck.

I was immediately thrust back into the battle as a pair of cannibals advanced around the corner, clearly trying to get into the med-bay. I brought the Crusaders up and put bloody grey holes in the both of them as I continued forward.

The crew deck had grown a little busier. I watched a cannibal get thrown back from cover as a well-aimed shot from a Mattoch drilled a hole in its brain. A pair of husks attempted to rush the long corridor to the weapon battery, but were slowed and brought down by a wall of fire from Nesk's SMG.

I fired at a marauder who was taking cover behind a table near me. I twisted and fired again, this time on a cannibal who had switched targets to me.

I was uncomfortably aware of the lack of cover here and let myself be driven back by the gunfire. A couple of marauders got brave and stood from cover to close in, but combined fire from the adjacent gun battery brought both of them down.

I heard the chime of the elevator and knew I had to get there immediately. I slid around the corner, unhooking a frag grenade from my belt as I moved. Right as the elevator began to open, I noticed no less than four marauders and a banshee in there. The banshee opened her mouth when she saw me and screeched.

Make that two grenades. I thought to myself. I unhooked another one and slammed my hand into the button to close the door. I primed both of the grenades and threw them into the elevator as the marauders opened fire on me. I hissed as a pair of rounds found their way through my suit. One merely skimmed me, but the other caught me close to my stomach.

_Dammit._ I groaned as the elevator closed and an explosion shook the deck. _That's going to hurt._

I activated a control in my suit that would trickle in enough adrenaline to keep me going. The suit clamps isolated the area and I quickly applied a patch to ward away further infection in the wound. Hopefully, that'd buy me enough time to get to the medbay after the fight. I moved back into the crew deck to find the forces substantially cleared out. I finished the rest of them with my Talon before taking a seat on the table, catching my breath.

"Seal the doors behind us!" I heard Barin yell to the turian crew. He and Nesk both stood from their positions inside the battery and approached.

"Are you wounded, Admiral?" Nesk hissed, his wide crimson eyes concerned. He only wore one of the small filtering masks over his mouth.

"Yeah." I told him, "But I'll make it for now. I still need to secure a couple decks. Both of you, take cover behind the escape pods near the battery doors. Engineering is warding them off and the med-bay had been sealed off."

"Will you be fit to fight, Admiral?" Barin asked, eying the wound at my stomach that I covered with a shaking hand. He had the same kind of mask on as Nesk.

"I can still do some damage." I told him, "I've still got a bit before infections hit. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"Yes, Admiral." Barin responded with a nod.

"And Barin? Nesk?" They both turned to me, gazes questioning, "Just Lena, okay?"

"You got it, Lena." Barin replied with a nod, before the headed back towards the battery.

"Roluck." I reported, "The Crew deck has been more or less cleared. I'm wounded, but still mobile. Elevator took a pair of grenades. Orders?"

"If you still think you can fight, head down to the crew berthing and check on Ilna and Enua." Roluck answered, gunfire still punctuating his words, "If not, feel free to come back up here."

"I'm still up for a fight or two, Roluck." I answered, amused.

I opened up another hatch and started crawling, ignoring the throbbing wound in my stomach.

_I'll get help when we're finished._ I reasoned stubbornly.

I entered the crew berthing and was surprised to find that it was being held rather effectively. A barricade held a large group of enemies off at the elevator, leaving a long hallway. Ilna was planted on top of a bed than had been dragged into the hallway, firing her sniper rifle at everything that moved. Enua popped out from behind a door midway down the hallway and took down anything that was coming over the barricade with her Vindicator.

"Goddess, Lena, are you alright?" She asked as I dropped from the ceiling above her and landed on my butt. I pushed myself up against a doorway, hiding myself from the enemy's sights.

"I'll be fine." I told her, unable to see her face behind the mask.

"Multiple hull breaches on the bridge." Roluck reported on the intercom, "As well as the shuttle bay and engineering."

What is Henry doing down there? I wondered to myself.

"Do you need a hand here?" I asked.

"No." Enua replied, shaking her head. With a crack of the Widow, a marauder who attempted to climb over the barricade went down, his head missing. "We've got the Alliance crew hiding in the rooms, armed with pistols. On the very unlikely chance we get overwhelmed, they'll storm in and tear the Reapers apart at the flanks until we can re-establish our position."

"Sounds go-"

With a bellowing roar, a brute appeared from nowhere and slammed into the barricade, knocking it to the floor.

"Shit!" Enua yelled, standing up and firing the Vindicator. I looked at the last grenade on my belt.

_I wish I'd stocked up after Eden Prime._ I moaned.

"Frag!" I yelled, priming the grenade and tossing it towards the approaching crowd. The resulting explosion some of the cannibals and marauders apart, but the brute kept coming and he was reinforced by more enemies down the hall.

"Gin!" Enua yelled. I perked up in surprise when I saw the volus lumber out of a room and throw something down the hall. I heard a small beeping as the crowd continued to advance, then red lasers descended from the ceiling and played over the throng of enemies.

"Take cover!" Enua yelled, throwing me to the ground. With a massive explosion that shook me to the core, whatever Gin had thrown detonated. I looked up to see most of the pack dead, though the brute continued to advance on us, anger on its misshapen face.

"Control re-established." Anna reported calmly from all around us. The regular lights came back on, washing away the hellish red glow.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Ilna yelled, "Damn right, Anna!"

"C'mon!" I yelled to Enua.

"Out, Alliance!" She yelled as we came around the corner.

I hefted the Crusader as door burst open around us. A full group of fifteen Alliance crewmembers began firing their pistols at the brute, slowing it. I fired the Crusader into its face, nearly blowing it off. The brute stumbled backwards, then fell under the combined fire of Zeta and the Alliance crew.

"I need you up here, Lena." Roluck ordered, sounding strained. "Things are getting rough. Errahe's on his way."

"Just a moment." I replied, "I'm stabilizing the crew berthing."

I swept forward with Enua, the two of us making the charge down the hallway as bullets filled the hallway around us, taking down husks and cannibals as we advanced. I grabbed one of the bed frames they'd reinforced the barricade with and flipped it back into position. We both kept our heads down as fire tore into the enemies ahead of us. Enua began stacking junk in front behind the frame, to provide solid support.

"We're good, Lena!" She yelled as we began to back away, "Get to Roluck."

I nodded and headed for the same hatch I'd come in through. There was a small lull in the gunfire, during which I was able to grab the top railing and pull myself up. The wound in my stomach screamed in agony, but I gritted my teeth and started climbing until I reached the bridge. I could hear the overwhelming fighting happening here. Errahe's Locusts were both chattering as they fired at rates that seemed impossible. I opened the hatch and pulled myself up to find myself behind Errahe.

The salarian was trying to cut into a group of husks that was covering a banshee's advance towards the cockpit. I heard the sound of Roluck's Harrier and the slight roar of Allison's Katana as they tried to put down the banshee.

"Trying to fly here, Boss!" I heard her yelling.

_I need to get them away from the bridge._ I realized.

Errahe barely spared me a glance as I skirted around him, firing into the group with the Crusader. Four husks later, I found myself reloading as they charged towards me. I'd drawn their attention, that was for sure.

"Go!" I yelled to Errahe, seeing an opening that he could slip through to get to the banshee, "Help Roluck!"

I moved around the galaxy map and into one of the supply rooms, still firing the Crusaders and taking out a couple more husks as they chased me, allowing Errahe to move forward and engage the banshee from behind.

The door closed and left me with six husks. I continued to backpedal, firing as I did so. When the Crusader ran out of ammo, I just dropped it and switched to the Talon. I heard Allison scream and the sound momentarily distracted me.

I cried out as the last husk got too close and swung, knocking the Crusader out of my hands. I went for my knife in a panic, the wound in my stomach rendering me virtually incapable of hand-to-hand combat.

The husk, surprisingly, was faster than my hands. It tackled me to the ground and slammed its hand into my helmet, nearly knocking me out. I tried to regain control of myself, but found myself barely able to find consciousness. Ignoring the wound had taken a toll on me, one I would be paying for immediately. The husk groaned as I heard the screaming of the banshee at the bridge.

The husks hands darted out and closed around my throat. I tried to punch it, but lacked the proper leverage to efficiently do so.

_Killed by a husk._ I lamented, the edges of my vision going dark. _What a terrible way to die._

There was a sudden raattle of gunfire and the husk's body jumped as Errahe entered, firing both of his SMGs at the former human. The husk slumped forward, its heavy body nearly suffocating. Errahe's hands appeared under the body and pushed it off.

Errahe looked amused, a smile under his mask.

"Nearly killed by a husk." He muttered, shaking his head.

"Bosh'tet." I muttered weakly. He held out a hand and I accepted the help up.

"Allison and Roluck wounded." He said, "Roluck heavily, Allison's only mild. Fifth Fleet has Vanguard pinned down and are taking losses keeping it in place."

"Help me to the cockpit." I commanded. The salarian raised an eyebrow, but offered an arm to me. I leaned on him as we made our way to the cockpit. Over twenty bodies littered the bridge, most dead from small caliber bullets, but a few had the telltale signs of shotgun wounds.

In the cockpit, Roluck was nursing a wound on his face that was bleeding heavily. Allison, who had an open gash in her side, was manning the controls.

"Get back in here, girls!" She yelled to her asari crew crankily. In front of us I could see Vanguard.

The big Reaper was being maneuvered into place by the Fifth Fleet. Unlike the previous battle, the entirety of the Fifth Fleet had shown up. Entire cruisers and frigates floated around as mere shrapnel and debris in front of the Reaper, who was shooting its red lasers around the area and slicing through anything it touched. I saw a large ship, clearly a dreadnought, that floated a little farther back from the fight.

Unlike the last fight, this was also a fight that didn't involve as much evasion, leading to a larger number of destroyed ships and spaced bodies. I saw some of the bodies there, wriggling around in front of the destructive Reaper. Even the ships that hadn't been destroyed were visibly damaged. The sight was devastating.

_Keelah._ I thought to myself. I'd seen Sovereign, but I hadn't seen the destruction it had caused firsthand. _We're supposed to fight over a thousand of these?_

On the bright side, I could see the moonlet starting to circle around Ainea, moving relatively fast. The moonlet wasn't even as big as the Reaper and would probably be better described as an asteroid.

"I have full control." Anna said, her holograph suddenly appearing next to Allison's hand as the asari crewmembers rushed in. "I'm fighting Vanguard off, but can hold. All remaining Reaper forces are being eliminated."

"I knew you'd get us through, Anna." Roluck said.

"I suggest we upgrade my servers when we get a chance." She hedged, earning her a strained laugh from Allison.

"Let's finish this, Allison." Roluck muttered, clearly fighting unconsciousness from blood loss.

"Admiral Hackett, this is Corporal Shields." Allison reported, "We've driven off the Reapers and have some wounded, but our ship is still mostly intact."

"Get in there and keep it busy." Hackett growled immediately.

"Roger." Allison replied. I noticed the grin on her face, telling me that she wouldn't have it any other way. "Anna, shut down all non-essential systems and give me as much power towards the weapons, shields and engines as you can. Theira, give me all the engine you can and ninety on the turns. Enyra, prepare the shields to fluctuate ninety percent wherever the Reaper is."

The asari got to work, inputting controls and commands. We sped towards the Reaper, dodging ships and debris as we closed in. Vanguard seemed to notice the Vengeance and turned towards our frigate. Vanguard lashed out with a...tentacle, drawing a hiss from me as it nearly slammed the tentacle into the ship. Allison dodged it and fired at the underside of the Reaper. The shot skimmed harmlessly off the crackling red shields, b/ut seemed to enrage the Reaper, who turned its full attention to the Vengeance.

With a jerk of the controls, Allison managed to flip the Vengeance over a red beam and face Vanguard. I saw it framed in the white of the asteroid that was swiftly approaching it.

_Just a few more seconds._ I thought, my hand gripping Allison's chair so hard that I was certain I was putting dents in it. _C'mon, Allison._

"Let's finish this fucker off." Allison said with a grin.

"Concentrate fire on Vanguard!" Hackett ordered over the cockpit, his voice broadcasted to every ship in the fleet. "Keep it pinned!"

I watched as Allison yelled at Theira.

"Give me all the engine power you can! Shields one hundred percent forward!"

The Vengeance sped towards Vanguard. I held on as Allison juked the ship to the right just in time to avoid another red laser. We were closing fast and so was the asteroid. I felt my legs trembling in anticipation.

"Here we go!" Allison yelled, just as the asteroid collided with Vanguard's back.

The Reaper seemed to bulge outwards for the slightest moment, a dull roar reverberating through what had to be miles of surrounding space. Then it exploded outwards in a mass of red flames, pieces of it tumbling away.

I felt elated and cheered, not giving a damn about professionalism. Roluck sighed and sat back, taking deep breaths. Allison guided the Vengeance over the asteroid and left the atmosphere to float lazily in space. Errahe let out a relieved breath.

The asari around us erupted into excited cheering.

_It's over._ I thought to myself, allowing relief to flood through my adrenaline and nerve-wracked system. _Vanguard's dead. It's finally over._

The implication finally hit me. We had four months of relative peace. Four months where we didn't have to worry about jumping in to save a colony under heavy attack.

_I can finally spend some real quality time with Henry._

"I knew you wouldn't let us down, Allison." Roluck said, the turian smile on his face as he grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her merrily. He opened up the intercom. "STT Zeta, Vengeance crew, Vanguard has been destroyed. I repeat: Vanguard has been destroyed."

Allison sank back into her chair, her breathing quiet and ragged from excitement and her wounds. I clapped her on the shoulder in excitement. The Alliance pilot rewarded me with a small smile.

"Excellent work, Vengeance." Admiral Hackett's voice spoke over the bridge. "We'll be here for the next six hours collecting crew and debris, then we'll head back to the Citadel."

"We'll assist, sir." Roluck said, "We have wounded-our pilot included-and we have a useful Kodiak. We don't need to go anywhere."

"I appreciate it, Vengeance." Admiral Hackett replied. Roluck turned to Allison and I.

I could feel the wound wearing on me. I was starting to see black and my legs were starting to wobble under me. I could already feel the dizziness of the fever approaching.

"Now." Roluck said, "Let's walk to the med-bay while we can still walk."

I laughed and allowed Theira to slip under my arm, leading me to one of the service hatches. Allison and Roluck were in tow.

"You know, Boss." Allison said behind me, "I think I'm going to remember this when you approve the funding for the 'embellishments' in my cockpit."

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Urdnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Urdnot Ambassador_**  
**_Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shutte Pilot_**  
**_Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**


	56. Chapter 56

I woke groggily, not jerked out of sleep by a nightmare this time.

_Maybe it's because there's so little stress._ I thought to myself, _Now that Vanguard's dead._

Krieg, Roluck, Allison, Risha'Zun and I were all in the medbay. Krieg needed a little time to recover after all the bullets he'd taken. Roluck was going to have some facial scars where the banshee's claw had gouged him, but he'd taken most of the damage to keep it away from Allison. Allison was going to be fine, aside from a little scarring on her side.

Lia'Vael, much to my pride, had taken several tears to her suit while fighting off Reaper forces. She had a nick on her shoulder that would scar over. One day, if we ever got out of our suits, she would be able to show it off with pride.

I'd told her I was proud of her before she was put under. Her body language told me that she'd never been so pleased in her life. I meant it, too. For an borderline non-combatant to go out of her way and put down over a half dozen enemies while protecting the ship was no small matter.

I was lucky. Due to my more tolerant immune system, I would only be down with an allergic reaction for three weeks. The actual wounds were going to take longer, but Dr. Aline gave me an optimistic two months before I was fully back on my feet. Since the round had hit a couple internal organs, the healing was taking forever.

_Two Reapers down, a thousand to go._ I groaned to myself. I had to keep that in sight to keep my elation over the defeat of Vanguard in check.

Henry had been here for the last few hours, quietly sleeping in a chair next to my bed. He'd been extremely concerned, to put it lightly, when he'd found out I was injured. After realizing I'd be okay, though, he'd settled on staying by my side until I was up and walking around.

As it was, I was just waiting on a call. Being unable to bring the wreckage of Vanguard to the Council, Admiral Hackett planned to take the Council to the wreckage of Vanguard. Techs had come in and downloaded every scrap of footage we'd recorded in battle, as well as every video and weapon and body they could find on Asteria and Eden Prime. There were also quite a few collected from our ship. The research on Elura's body had been forwarded to us and Admiral Hackett, the implications of which had been disturbing.

The Reapers weren't just looking to turn everyone into mindless slaves. The best and brightest (Like Saren and, apparently, Elura) got to keep their minds, though they were still controlled by a Reaper. In other words: Reaper commanders. Evidence suggested this was exactly what was happening to Elura, though her mind had failed in the struggle.

Which implied that was exactly why Vanguard had Reaper forces board our ship.

_I could've been another Elura._ I thought to myself, shuddering at the implications.

The Vengeance was going to need to be towed back to the Citadel for serious repairs. The drive core, AI core, engines, main battery, elevators and shuttle bay had been completely wrecked in the battle and ensuing firefight between Allison and Vanguard. Anna was still trying to recover. I wouldn't be here to see the repairs, though.

I'd received a transmission from Admiral Koris. I was needed back at the Flotilla the moment I could find my feet. I intended to stay here long enough to see the Council's decision, then my crew and I needed to head for Omega. There were some quarians I'd got in contact with there who were headed back to the Flotilla in the next few days.

I looked at Henry, regretting that I couldn't spend anymore time with him. I regretted it even further that I hadn't told him about the transmission.

_My people need me._ I reasoned. _No matter how much I love Henry, my people need to come first._

It was not the first time I'd hated being an Admiral. I doubted that it'd be the last.

I looked around at Krieg, who was snoring loudly. Allison was up and arguing with Doctor Aline about getting up to the bridge. Roluck was reading reports, much to Doctor Aline's displeasure.

"STT Zeta," Came Admiral Hackett's voice over our intercom, "Please report to the bridge if you are able. I am taking you to the SSV Independence for our meeting with the Council."

"That's us." Roluck muttered, the bandage covering his face stretching wiht his mandibles as Henry woke up.

"Well." Henry muttered, "Time to catch up with some of my favorite people in the galaxy."

Krieg grunted as he woke up.

"What just happened?" He asked.

"We're going to meet with the Council." Roluck said, "C'mon."

"He can't be out of bed!" Doctor Aline exclaimed.

"Aulra." Roluck told her softly, grabbing her by the shoulder. Dr. Aline turned to meet Roluck's blue gaze. "We need to be there, all of us, for this. Everything we've done has been for this meeting."

Dr. Aline seemed to back down a little bit.

"I...I understand." She answered, looking unnerved. I stood up tiredly, managing to find my feet. Henry gave me a supportive arm and I leaned on him as we all walked out of the med-bay.

"I'll help you up, Lena." Roluck told me, opening a hatch in the ceiling that I'd crawled through earlier. He held both hands out to give me a boost. I grabbed hold of one of the rungs and pulled as he pushed upwards, helping me into the passageway. I was acutely aware that my blood was dried against the rungs as I slowly worked my way up to the Bridge.

When I pushed myself out of the hatch, I waited for everyone else as that tall, intimidating Alliance Admiral approached. I noticed that the rest of STT Zeta was already here, having chosen to wait on the bridge so they wouldn't have to crawl through hatches.

"Admiral Zuril." He greeted in his gravelly voice, his blue eyes piercing as he inclined his head respectfully

"Admiral Hackett." I returned the greeting.

"I see you're wounded." He said, looking at the newest patch on my already shoddy-looking enviro-suit. "Are you infected?"

"Three weeks." I informed him as Roluck pulled himself up. "That would've killed the average quarian, but I've apparently been hit so many times that I've built up my immune system to a substantial degree."

"That's good to hear." He said, "Will you be returning to the Citadel?"

"I..." I started uncertainly, a little guilty that Henry had to hear this as he pulled himself out of an access hatch, "I need to get to Omega immediately after this meeting."

"What?" Henry asked, completely forgetting about Admiral Hackett. I turned to him, seeing the somewhat pained look on his face and feeling that guilt run a little farther.

"Admiral." Roluck greeted with a salute, reminding Henry that Admiral Hackett was standing right there.

"Sorry, sir." Henry said, saluting the Admiral.

"Understandable." Hackett replied, "I know you've all been under a lot of stress. Let's head to the SSV Aconcagua. The Council is already on board and just waiting for you before the big reveal."

He started walking towards the airlock, with the rest of us in tow.

"You're leaving?" Henry asked quietly, dropping behind the rest of the group to join me (and help me walk).

"I have to." I answered quietly, unwilling to meet Henry's eyes. "And the crew has to come with me, if it's what I think it is. I'm really sorry."

There was silence next to me as the airlock cycled and we stepped into an Alliance ship. Everybody on the ship looked a little nervous at our group, especially at Barin.

_Right._ I thought to myself, _Humans and batarians hate each other. It's hard to remember, sometimes, on the Vengeance._

"I understand." Henry finally said, returning the salute of an Alliance Corporal who saluted him on the way by. "I'd do what I had to for my people, too."

A smile inched across my face. I was pleased that he'd come to terms with it so quickly.

We headed up to the top deck of the dreadnought. This ship had been so massive when we'd seen it from the Vengeance. Now, it seemed only twice as large on the inside as the Vengeance. I couldn't help but wonder why that was.

_Maybe to make room for the engines and guns._ I mused. When we reached the top deck, though, I was surprised to see what lay in front of me.

Dozens of panels and terminals sat around a circular kind of dais. Around the dais was a very thick panel of reinforced glass spread in a 270 degree circle. I looked at the terminals and could make out readouts of ships. A much larger screen to the left had a readout of the pieces of the Reaper.

_A command center._ I observed, awed at the brilliance and simplicity. From here, a capable Admiral could oversee entire battles and direct his ships with both visuals and readouts.

_A capable Admiral like Hackett, for example._

"Keelah..." I whispered, seeing the leftovers of the battle in full.

The debris I had seen after the battle had been only a quarter of what littered the space around the dead Reaper. Not to mention, this was hours after the battle. Other ships were picking through the wreckage as best as they could.

"How many ships did you lose, Admiral?" Roluck asked.

"Twenty-two." Admiral Hackett rumbled, his voice low, nearly reverent.

The elevator opened behind us and four people entered the room.

The first was a human, with short black hair that was going grey in spots. He had very calculating brown eyes that I found myself instantly disliking. He was clothed in white robes with buttons up the middle. The human Councilor, Udina.

The second was an asari who looked to be in her matron stages. I'd always been under the impression that the Councilor would be a Matriarch. Still, her nearly purple face was covered in white lines of face paint that even covered her lips. Cold blue eyes looked around at the scene before her, pausing distastefully on me, Barin and Krieg. Councilor Tevos, I assumed.

The third Councilor out of the door was a salarian, who I could see little of under his black and red hood. He looked nervous, undoubtedly anxious about the unfamiliar surroundings as he wringed his long, thin hands. This one was the Salarian Councilor, Councilor Valern.

The last Councilor out was a turian, who looked surprisingly similar to Roluck, except for the white facepaint. He, out of all of the Councilors, looked the most comfortable with being in this environment. I'd heard that Councilor Sparatus had fought in the First Contact War, which made him probably the most respectable of the four Councilors here. It also made him, if the accounts were true, the most hardliner of the Councilors.

Last out of the elevator was, to my surprise, General Toulius. I hadn't realized he'd be out here. His grey face spoke of exhaustion and his mandibles had a noticeable droop to them. No doubt, he'd lost some sleep over the last few weeks. Just like the rest of us. His azure eyes lit up with pride, though, when he looked around at the mess that was STT Zeta.

The atmosphere in the room seemed to change very quickly. It went from 'professional to 'hostile' in under a second. The source of it all was Admiral Hackett, who stood tall at the center of the dais, surveying all the information that was being sent to him.

"Twenty-two ships." Admiral Hackett repeated in a grave voice, cold eyes glaring back at the Council as they seemed to freeze up. "Which leave 643 servicemembers dead. Two colonies attacked, leaving thousands of civilians dead and hundreds of Alliance personnel KIA. Countless wounded. One of the best special ops teams in the galaxy in one of the worst medical statuses I've ever seen in a unit."

"All because you three couldn't listen." Admiral Hackett finished, the scar that lined his face seeming even redder in the light emanating from the terminals as he indicated all of the Councilors (Save Udina). Somehow, it was far worse that he wasn't yelling. He swept a hand out towards the carnage laid out in front of him as Councilor Tevos opened her mouth to speak. "Is this what you needed to see? More dead, more wounded? Just to prove to you that this threat is real?"

"We regret the deaths of your people, Admiral," Councilor Valern started, "But we can hardly just take your word that a race of se-"

My heart seemed to sink at these words. I noticed a slump in everybody's shoulders, the elation of the victory immediately extinguished. General Toulius bowed his head in defeat and even Roluck finally seemed to just fold in on himself. He leaned against the wall and just shook his head, murmuring inaudibly.

_Keelah._ I thought to myself, _They're not going to listen to us, are they? So much work, so much death, all to prove to them that this was real. And they're going to ignore it._

"This is bullshit!" Eryc roared from behind Roluck. He made to go after the Council and do...something, but Henry intercepted him and held him back. General Toulius subtly moved to block Eryc from the Council.

"Don't know why we expected them to fucking do a thing about this." Allison muttered audibly .

"Your men are in need of discipline, Councilor." Tevos remarked lightly, indicating Eryc.

"Agreed." Councilor Udina confirmed.

"You bosh'tets!" I started, drawing glares from the Councilors. They couldn't to anything to me, I was a quarian Admiral and out of their jurisdiction. "I've go-"

"PFC Flynt is stealing the words out of my mouth." Councilor Udina finished.

I paused, looking at him in surprise.

"Admiral." Udina said, looking at Hackett, "What have we got?"

"A lot." Admiral Hackett said. "We've got footage from battles on Asteria and Eden Prime, as well as missions in between. We've got the bodies of Reaper ground troops. We've got thousands of witnesses, we've got research. We've got the pieces of Vanguard."

"We've got Elura's body." Roluck interjected. The Admiral nodded to him.

"And we've got a confession from an indoctrinated human that the Spectre Enua gave us." Admiral Hackett continued, acknowledging Enua with a nod. "As well as a report from Lieutenant Gerrard concerning a Reaper artifact he encountered."

"What is your full report?" Councilor Sparatus finally spoke, the turian watching Admiral Hackett.

"Hundreds of pages of research, eyewitness accounts, data, capabilities." Admiral Hackett replied, "Over sixteen hours of video footage from missions run by STT Zeta and all of Shepard's findings, as well."

He turned to the window.

"And another dead goddamn Reaper laid out in front of you."

A long silence, then:

"We'll need to prepare, then."

This came from Councilor Sparatus. I felt my heart immediately leap back into my chest, encouraged by the words.

"You can't be serious!" Councilor Tevos exclaimed. I couldn't help but enjoy the smug asari getting indignantly outraged.

"I am dead serious." Councilor Sparatus answered. I noticed that Councilor Valern was shooting him quite the glare, as well. "I see overwhelming evidence in front of me. I understand the sacrifices these men and women made and am ashamed that my own inaction is what led to this. I will look at these reports. I will send the relevant data to the-"

"This is lunacy!" Councilor Valern shouted, but the damage was already done.

"This one Reaper took down twenty-seven ships before we could drive an asteroid into it." Roluck interrupted, "They didn't even put a dent in the Reaper. What do you think the Salarians or the Asari can do about it?"

"This could be a fabrica-"

"And you will prepare, Tevos." Councilor Udina told her firmly. I noticed the disturbing look in his eyes, like a predator going in for the kill. "Or you won't have the human fleets to defend you. And I can assure you that I will be withdrawing from the Council."

"And the same goes for me." Councilor Sparatus spoke.

"And as the spokesman for Clan Urdnot," Krieg continued, "You sure as hell won't have troops from Tuchunka to assist you, this time."

"Being the Admiral of the Migrant Fleet Marines," I interjected, "I can personally guarantee you that we will be leaving you to rot while we assist the turians and the humans."

_Assuming we're not too busy with our own problems._ I thought guiltily.

"And Clan Enute will not stand with the blind." Nesk hissed.

The two stubborn Councilors looked around at all of us, united against them.

"So we're to be forced to do this, then?" Councilor Tevos observed bitterly.

"Precisely." Henry answered cheerfully, finally adding his voice to the argument.

There was a long silence, then Councilor Valern spoke.

"The information will need to be carefully controlled to the highest points of the military." He started.

_That son of a bitch!_ I cursed, _He wants to minimize the information. He wants to make it look like he's accepting it and preparing, but really do nothing and let the rest of the galaxy do the hard work._

"Yes." Councilor Tevos agreed, clearly seeing his plan and jumping right on it. "We don't want our civilians to pan-"

"No." Councilor Sparatus growled, "You don't get to stay out of this."

"Interesting problem, that." Admira Hackett said, letting a small smile escape to his lips. I don't think I'd ever seen him smile until then. "GNN, ANN and CBN reporters just happened to...ah...infiltrate the Vengeance and catch the action on Eden Prime and this entire ensuing battle. I wouldn't be surprised if that footage is already out there."

"You clever son of a bitch." I heard General Toulius say, a smile undoubtedly on his face.

_That's why he had us drag along Urre and those other two reporters._ I suddenly realized, _He used him as a conduit to the people to completely bypass the Council and force their hands. Because their people are going to be demanding that something be done._

"We've got an advantage on them over all the previous cycles." Admiral Hackett continued to the stunned Councilors. "In their cycle, the Protheans managed to disable the signal that would allow all the Reapers through the Conduit and onto the Citadel after the destruction of their civilization. They could disable the Mass Relays from there and pick us apart one system at a time. So they'll face a united galaxy, this time. We know their strengths and though they don't have a weakness, we know their capabilities. Captain Vether?"

"We have developed battle-tested strategies for dealing with their ground troops." Roluck continued, "Meanwhile, we've made several alliances and contacts to prepare for this war. Lieutenant Gerrard has been spending his time training militias while Admiral Zuril has been doing her best to interface with her people so as to prepare for this."

"And do you think we'll be ready?" Councilor Sparatus asked. We all looked out at the destruction laid out before us.

"It's hard to tell if you can ever be ready for something like this." I answered for everyone.

"Right." Councilor Udina said, "Admiral, report to the Citadel with your fleet for repairs and resupply. I need to talk strategy with you and we need to discuss Shepard. Lieutenant Gerrard, PFC Flynt, Miss Ulere, Corporal Shields, please report to me during your stay on the Citadel."

"The same goes for you, Captain Vether." Councilor Sparatus said.

"And you, Ira." Councilor Tevos told Enua.

"And you as well, Staff Sergeant." Councilor Valern warned Errahe. I noticed him eying the missing horn on Errahe's head.

"If that will be all, Admiral?" Councilor Tevos asked Admiral Hackett, something of a defeated look on her face.

"It will." Admiral Hackett answered dismissively, turning back to the terminals. "I have to supervise the rest of this salvage operation."

I smiled as the Councilors entered the elevator. We'd leveraged the entire galaxy against them and won.

The smile immediately crumbled as I realized I had something I needed to do, now. I looked at General Toulius.

"General." I told him, "I...can't stay here."

"What do you mean?" General Toulius asked.

"I've got to get back to my own people immediately." I told him. "Me and my crew need to get to Omega so we can catch a ride back to the Flotilla."

"We can have an Alliance frigate take you there." Admiral Hackett replied, to my surprise. "We have a few of them loitering around aimlessly right now."

"That would be acceptable." I agreed.

"I'll have the SSV Norway pull your people out of the shuttle bay of the Vengeance." Admiral Hackett said. "Say your goodbyes downstairs, if you don't mind. I have to direct everything up here."

"Yes, sir." I answered, stepping into the elevator with the rest of the team in tow.

"You have all done me proud." General Toulius praised us quietly as the elevator door closed. "I can't believe we pulled that off."

"I almost thought they were going to shut us down." Roluck said from next to me.

"Me too." I agreed.

When we stepped out of the elevator, we found ourselves back in the large bridge.

"Admiral Lena'Zuril?" An Alliance Naval Captain spoke up from the other side of the bridge. I looked at the older man.

"That's me." I replied, unnecessarily.

_You're the only quarian here._ I thought to myself, _I'm sure it's hard to miss you._

"I'm Captain Smith, ma'am." The Captain replied, a warm smile on his face. "Captain of the SSV Norway. We're already transferring your people out of the Vengeance, including a medical team to assist Lia'Vael out of there."

"Thank you, Captain."

"I'll wait on my ship while you say your goodbyes." He told me.

I was acutely aware of all the Alliance personnel around me as I turned to the team. I felt a little bit lightheaded, the events of today having an effect on my feverish body.

"I guess this is it." I told the team.

"No, it's not." Roluck replied. "I know that we'll all be here, four months from now."

"I won't say goodbye, Lena." Henry said, "Just...see you later."

He grabbed my hand and I let myself be drawn into an embrace. I wrapped my arms around him, miserable that this would be the last time I saw him for four months.

_Suck it up._ I told myself, _You're an Admiral._

When he stepped back, I cast a gaze over the rest of STT Zeta.

_I hope they all come back._

"I'll miss you." I said, waving a hand. "I hope we see each other again, soon."

I walked back to Captain Smith, looking at the team one last time as they watched me go.

"Alright." I told him, "I'm ready to go."

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Lieutenant Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, STG_**  
**_Private First Class Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Barin Pazen - Batarian, Unaffiliated_**  
**_Urdnot Krieg - Krogan, Clan Urdnot Ambassador_**  
**_Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Gin Kalus - Volus, Information Analyst_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shutte Pilot_**  
**_Anna - Vengeance Artificial Intelligence_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**


	57. Chapter 57

_**POV of Captain Roluck Vether, STT Zeta Commander**_

I sighed as I looked across the table at my brother, whose mandibles were flared out in a show of indignation.

"They kicked you out of training for what?" I asked, trying to control my temper.

I lived in what was known as 'military housing.' while I trained our troops. Even now, as I prepared to verbally fillet my brother, I caught entire platoons of troops marching past the house on their way to the range.

Of course, this being military housing, the house was tiny. Considering that I was living in it for free, though, I couldn't complain.

Once STT Zeta had parted ways, we'd all returned to our respective people to start prepping the entire galaxy for war.

The humans were in a flurry of activity, not much to my surprise. Their fleets were consolidating, but with no idea where the attack would be coming from, they found themselves unable to really prepare a directional defense. I heard rumors that they were intentionally delaying Commander Shepard's trial to appease the batarians until the Reapers came. Henry was training entire damn battalions of militia at a time, while assisting Ilna with instructing sniper platoons. Eryc, from what I understood, was teaching gifted biotics and hand-to-hand combat. Allison was on the Citadel, teaching pilots how to fight the Reapers.

The krogan were training for war, which was...just about the usual, for them. It was hard to tell the difference between normal operations and war prep with them. However, I'd been in contact with Krieg, who had assured me that efforts were being made.

Like the humans, my own race had a very comfortable working relationship with war. Our preparations had gone smoothly, especially after I reached out to Garrus Vakarian, a companion of Commander Shepard who was very knowledgeable about the Reapers. We'd shared a lot of ideas (and alcohol), while we planned. From what he'd told me, he and Commander Shepard were a little more than just friends and comrades. I didn't begrudge him for it. I still remembered the surprisingly heartfelt message I'd gotten from Shepard, thanking me and the entire team for making her job so much easier.

So now I was out teaching every turian soldier the Heirarchy gave me about the Reapers, their ground forces and how to counter them. I estimated that I'd trained at least six brigades. Nowhere near enough, but we didn't have enough people with my kind of experience to go around. A month ago, I'd requested that I simply teach infantry commanders, to get my experience where it would be needed most. I'd been granted authorization immediately and that was where I was at, right now.

The asari response hadn't been quite as spectacular. They looked mightily like they were dragging their heels. They had slowly been building up their spy and espionage corps while improving on their scout ships. They had been told, multiple times by the humans and turians, that spies and saboteurs wouldn't mean a damn thing in this war. But they just kept right on.

The salarians had gone a different and much more odd path. Except for their STG, the salarians weren't much for ground wars. They preferred to have all the cards in hand when a war started, which wasn't an option here. So they'd been using research, including genetic testing on varren and similar species, to find a species that would fight the Reapers. They were also told how foolish this plan was, but they hardly seemed to care.

The quarians had been very quiet, as of late. Nobody seemed to know where the largest fleet in the galaxy was, only that every quarian had been pulled off of their Pilgrimages and slave contracts to return to the Flotilla. That news was either very good or very bad, depending on exactly who the quarians intended to fight. I imagined that Lena was bludgeoning her way around the Admiralty Board as best as she could, but they weren't exactly shy about circumventing her power.

Clan Enute was gaining followers at astronomical numbers. Ever since the Council had granted the vorcha support, the Clan had tripled in size, with more vorcha leaving Heshtok to actually do something with their lives. I had no idea of the numbers of the ground forces, but Nesk had been keeping in contact with me and confirmed that he was training their army much how I was trying to teach the turians. He had infantry commanders get together in a platoon and he'd train them. Then they'd disseminate amongst their men.

It'd been four months since we'd parted ways and not even a whisper from the Reapers. Most of the military was holding its breath, but the civilians didn't seem to realize the enormity of the threat. It was evident by the way they'd gone about their lives, clearly assuming this would just be another Krogan Rebellion-sized war. They didn't realize that they were all about to come under attack and struggle for their survival. There was nothing I could say or do to make that a reality, no matter how much I and Garrus had yelled.

Not that the Heirarchy wasn't taking this seriously. The preparations had been more than I expected and less than I'd hoped. They just didn't seem to understand that this wouldn't be fought out on some distant planets or colonies. The war would be here. In our homes, in our cities. Our children would remember this war personally.

I flexed my cybernetic hand idly as I looked at my brother.

_Spirits._ I muttered quietly, _How many disgusted looks I've gotten since Asteria._

It was true. The hand was certainly the exact opposite of what I wanted for a head turner, especially for the women. The three lines running through the side of my face from the banshee's claws didn't exactly help, either.

"It was bullshit." My brother, Arturus, complained. I almost sighed in annoyance. Our family was a military name on Palaven. While we weren't quite the Victus level of military blood, we were certainly no slouches. I had followed in my late father's footsteps and had even surpassed him when I became part of the STT. Arturus had tried, several times, just to get through basic training. But his mouth got the better of him each and every attempt he made. "The instructors started talking about our father, disrespectfully."

"Arturus." I groaned, resting my face in my palm. "This was supposed to be simple. With the Reaper threat incoming, they've been passing through anyone who knows how to point a gun the right way."

Arturus didn't answer, clearly ashamed of the implications. I didn't bother delving into it further. I needed some air.

I stood and walked to the door. I opened it up and walked outside to get a clear head. Estria, the city this base was located in, was beautiful this time of year. The entire surface of Palaven seemed to be at least partially made of silver, one of the biggest reasons we'd developed so quickly as a military superpower.

_But the trees._I thought to myself.

The trees were beautiful cascades of green and orange this time of year, dotting the land in front of me like something out of a vid.

It'd always been a dream of mine to have a few children, settle down and start tending to plants and cooking meals like a family man. I was, quite frankly, tired of fighting. While it was ingrained into our society and most aspects of our culture (for example, Garrus Vakarian and I were something of celebrities, here), I wanted a family. I'd done enough fighting to last an entire brigade of turians and I still knew that I wasn't even close to finished.

Was a family too much to ask?

_I doubt that'd ever be possible._ I thought, looking back down at my hand. _Can't find a woman to get within six yards of me, these days. I scare 'em right off._

But it was an old complaint. Right now, I had something else on my plate. I watched the troops doing combat drills in the distant fields, scorched by the afternoon sun, as I thought of my brother. He was a constant failure, but a well-meaning one. He managed to get by on his own, but I knew he begrudged how famous I'd become and how people only recognized his name because of me.

_Captain Vether._ I quoted inwardly out of a news article that'd been posted three months ago, _The leader of the Special Tasks Team Zeta, veteran of the battles of Eden Prime and Asteria._

It'd been a flattering article, but it must have misspelled my address, because I never got fan mail.

"I want to settle down, Arturus." I finally said, deciding on the truth. "I've been killing for nearly fifteen years. I have been since I was fifteen. The last four years have been the worst. Imagine constantly being on deployment. I don't spend three-quarters of my time in garrison, I spend none of my time in garrison. Just go out, kill, come back, then go out and kill again. For nearly fifteen years."

"I know you, Roluck." Arturus chuckled, "You wouldn't be able to set the gun down."

Maybe he had a point. On my idle time, I found that though my wishful thinking went to family life, my thoughts turned to the war. Thoughts of how to effectively lead my team, how to properly ambush the Reapers, other such thoughts that proved my mind was still firmly military. I found myself constantly thinking of Henry, Lena, Allison, the rest of STT Zeta. Despite the horrifying instance that would bring us back together, I found myself longing to meet them again.

"Maybe." I admitted, looking my brother in the eyes, "But couldn't it be a possibility?"

He looked like he was about to say something, before his eyes traveled up and over my shoulder, his mouth opening as his mandibles went limp in shock.

I heard that sound. The deep bass rumble that I'd heard during the final battle with Vanguard. The same sound that had haunted my nightmares ever since I'd gotten back to Palaven. It seemed to shake the ground and blow my eardrums out as I turned, dreading the sight I would see.

A dark, massive shape came hurtling from the skies. With an impact that had to be felt all over Palaven, the Reaper landed.

"It finally begins." I muttered grimly.

The recruits I'd been watching earlier began firing wildly, unable to really hit anything that would matter. The Reaper opened its 'eye' and a bright red beam sliced through the platoon, brutally incinerating each man or cutting him in half.

"Shit..." I heard Arturus whisper. "That was my training platoon."

I glanced at him, then back at the training complex. Behind the smaller Reaper, I saw more landing. At least a dozen within sight, easily. Everywhere they landed, they announced themselves with the bright flashing of red beams, slaughtering everything in their path.

The only sounds I could hear was gunfire and screaming. I couldn't even move, horrified at what I was seeing.

"Spirits..." I whispered. I'd been preparing for this day for nearly three years and it was worse than I could've ever imagined. "We...we need to go."

I still couldn't move, despite my own advice. The Reaper on the field swung and its 'eye' met mine.

I couldn't tell for sure, but I sensed that it somehow knew who I was. The same as it probably knew who Commander Shepard and Garrus Vakarian were.

"Move!" I yelled, grabbing Arturus and sprinting away from the door. There was that loud hum as, with a bone-shattering impact, the house detonated around us. I felt pain as I was thrown to the floor, with the rest of the house collapsing on top of me. As I was buried alive, I felt panic gripping my mind.

_I'm to die here._ I thought,_ On the first punch._

I felt the debris above me shift and a strong hand grabbed me by the armor.

"C'mon!" Arturus yelled, managing to pull me and shift some of the rubble away. I was able to clear away the rest. As I emerged from the mess, I gave him a nod of thanks and looked around. There was both good and bad news.

The good news: The Reaper had turned to other targets, figuring me for dead.

The bad news: It was starting to deploy ground troops as it fired into a large barracks. There was no time for anyone to scream or react. The building simply exploded into a blossoming flower of fire and twisted steel.

"C'mon, Roluck!" Arturus yelled in my ear, shaking me out of my morbid trance. I turned to find him pressing a pistol into my hand. I curled my fingers around the familiar feel of the Paladin. I turned, to find an uncertain Arturus holding a Predator pistol.

"Can you handle that thing?" I asked as we rushed towards another house, concealing ourselves behind it. The sound of cannons and ground-to-ground defenses joined the brutal symphony being played across Palaven.

"I got far enough to learn how to shoot."

"Excellent." I muttered, looking at the airfield. There were a couple of long-range transports there. If I could just get to one, I'd be able to get myself to the Citadel. "It's looking like we have an escape."

"Escape?!" My brother exclaimed. I turned to him, surprised at the sudden outburst. He looked angry, accusatory. "You're one of only two turians in the galaxy who've met these things head-on before and you want to leave when your people need someone with experience the most?!"

"Keep it down." I hissed. "And yes. I'm leaving. I will be much more useful brokering treaties and recruiting armies than I will be leading guerrilla attacks on Reaper forces."

"But-"

"Do you think I enjoy this?" I asked him, "Look around. Do you really think that, after all I've done, that I want to leave this fight to someone else?"

I looked at the Reaper that had killed nearly a thousand people in the mere minute it'd been down here. It was stomping off towards small arms fire as its ground troops flooded the complex.

There was a rising symphony of screams and explosions as the other Reapers and their troops began tearing through the surrounding civilian population. Even as I watched, a skyscraper fell, undoubtedly killing thousands as a frigate engulfed in flames dropped from orbit and plowed into the housing complex behind me, wiping out whoever was there.

"This is terrible." Arturus whispered. "This...this is all of them, right?"

"All of them?" I laughed as we slid into concealment in a ditch on the side of the road to the airfield "Try over a thousand of them. I guarantee you that Earth is getting hit worse."

"How can you speak of this so casually?" My brother asked.

"Casually?" I said as we went to all fours, crawling through the ditch and making slow progress to the airfield. "I don't speak of the destruction of the galaxy casually."

The spirits must have heard my silent plea, because Arturus went silent.

The sky was starting to darken, smoke from surrounding buildings creating a haze against the sun. I tried my best to block out distant screams and the sounds of the Reapers lasers surrounding us.

It was an extremely tense five-minute crawl to the airfield, but we eventually made it.

There were already enemies, seemingly waiting for us. I didn't wast time, sighting in on the two cannibals and one marauder. I fired three rounds at the cannibal on the left as I went to a knee, to provide a smaller target. The cannibal dropped as the one next to him went down to a hail of wild and uncoordinated pistol fire from Arturus.

The marauder, clearly sensing who the biggest threat was, switched targets to me.

_Dammit._ I thought inwardly as I mentally prepared for the bullets. My shields would take most of them, but I might take one or two, _I was hoping my brother would be a little more efficient._

I made to fire, when I felt myself slammed to the ground as a string of assault rifle fire tore through Arturus, who had jumped atop me to save me from taking the gunfire myself. I didn't have time to think, time to react to my brother's actions. I simply raised my pistol and sent six accurate and well-aimed shots into the marauder's face. With a gurgle and whirring of cybernetics, it dropped to the ground.

"Arturus." I said, shaking my brother.

No response. I rolled him off of me to find him covered in blood, some of it coming from a pair of bullet holes in his face.

_I had shields._ I lamented, barely able to process what my brother had just done, _I could've withstood the rounds._

My brother. One of the biggest attitudes I'd seen this side of Palaven, with multiple drop outs of basic training. He'd jumped in front of bullets for me, to save me.

"I won't leave you behind." I muttered.

I felt sorrow threatening to consume me. I wanted to go to my knees, I wanted to show my remorse. There was no time.

I grabbed him under the arms, dragging him towards one of the transports. He wasn't heavy, seeing as he wasn't wearing armor. A cannibal came aroudn the corner of a building ad roared at me, but I snapped my arm up and fired a trio of rounds, all of them impacting the cannibal's face and dropping him to the ground.

Another explosion nearby and I looked over to find that same Reaper from before closing in. Though its gaze wasn't focused on me, I had no doubts that it wanted this airfield gone. It shrugged off gunfire and small rockets as it seemed to ponderously wander over to the airfield. I opened the passenger's side of the transport and shoved Arturus' body into the seat. I closed the door and rushed to my side. I started the transport as the steps of the Reaper shook the ground.

"And that's one of the smallest ones." I muttered as the transport started up.

I took off, heading low through the city as the Reaper suddenly fired , nearly taking me out in a flash of blinding crimson light. I swerved to the left to avoid the next shot, then cut right through a stand of tall buildings. I angled the transport unpwards and hit full speed.

_I could really use Allison right now._I thought to myself as the transport shot into the sky, thankfully unmolested by Reapers.

I felt the urge rising withing me to go back down there and save as many people as I could with this transport before heading back. But there was no time. I had to reform STT Zeta. I had to start recruiting armies.

Right before I hit the atmosphere, I leveled the ship out and got a good look of Palaven.

Entire city blocks had been burned down in the matter of minutes. Some turian ships were trapped in the atmosphere and as I looked, a frigate desperately slammed itself into a smaller Reaper, trying to stop it from entering Vallen. The Reaper shrugged it off as hundreds of turians died in a fiery blaze. Smoke rose to the sky and was creating a curtain of darkness that was starting to cloak the planet. I could see other plumes of smoke in the distance as those red beams cut across buildings, killing dozens of people instantly.

I felt my mouth pressing together in a severe grimace. I'd known it'd be bad. I'd been more prepared for this than nearly any other turian on Palaven. But even I couldn't have imagined all of this.

_I need to go._I realized as a pair of Reapers started wandering close to my position.

I passed through the atmosphere and into space, where I could distantly see the remnants of our fleets desperately fending off the Reapers near Menae, the moon of Palaven. There seem to be a line of destroyed ships and immobile bodies floating in the void that led to the moon in the most macabre trail I'd ever seen. I swung out to the left, intending to bypass the fight entirely. The Reapers were fast, but they wouldn't be able to catch me before I made a jump.

After a minute, I hit the jump, headed for the mass relay. I sighed and released the controls as the blue field circled around me. I looked to my passenger. My disgrace of a brother, who'd sacrificed himself in his last angry moments to ensure I left the planet alive.

"I promise you." I told him quietly, giving him the promise he'd died for, "I will save Palaven."

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**


	58. Chapter 58

I sighed in relief as the blue field receded, leaving me in view of the Citadel.

The Citadel, to my surprise, looked much the same as it ever did. Serene, peaceful and an impenetrable fortress. I floated towards it as a ship that looked awfully similar to the Vengeance left. But it wasn't. The frigate that I'd passed had been a heavily modified version. It was none other than the Normandy, the ship of Commander Shepard. I chuckled to myself, glad that Shepard had made it off of Earth alive. I had no idea if Earth had even been attacked, but I was sure that the Reapers had hit it, if they'd hit Palaven.

"This is docking controller Lieutenant Ali." Came a tense woman's voice. "Identify yourself."

"Captain Roluck Vether." I told her, "Council STT, Zeta Team. I've come from Palaven to meet with General Toulius."

"You have quite the reception waiting for you, if I recall." She said. "I'll alert them to your arrival. Docking bay Romeo-17."

"R17." I told her, "Got it."

I searched for the dock using my terminal and finally found it, near the ring to the Citadel Tower.

"Reception?" I wondered as I guided the transport to the docking bay.

I backed the transport into an airlock and stood, cutting through the middle of the transport and exiting through the hatch in the back. I stepped out into a darkened corridor of the Wards. There were a few people hanging around the reception area, as well as a pair of Alliance Marines headed my way.

"Sir." One of them greeted, snapping off a sharp salute. I wearily returned it. "The Council wants to see you."

"I don't doubt it." I answered. "My brother is back in there."

"We'll call the medics."

"He doesn't need one." I answered quietly. It took the Marines a couple seconds, then one of them got it.

"Oh." The Marine said, "I'm sorry, sir."

"Just make sure he's treated with respect." I answered. "I'd appreciate it."

Without another word, I kept walking, wishing I could have a moment to myself, where I didn't have to worry about the Reapers. Where I could properly mourn my brother instead of simply telling two grunts to get him to a morgue. I sighed as I stepped into the dingy elevator that seemed to characterize my every trip to the Citadel.

When the elevator closed, I allowed myself the briefest moment of weakness. I leaned back against the wall as the elevator ascended and buried my face in both of my hands. I groaned aloud, wanting nothing more than to sink to the floor and stay there for the next couple of days.

_I need Henry._ I thought to myself. _I need Lena and I need Allison. I can't do this all myself._

And not just because they were the best soldiers (and pilot) in the galaxy. It was because, right now, I needed someone to have a drink with and say a few words to. The last member of my family had dove in front of bullets for me and I hadn't processed it in the slightest since then.

I composed myself, checking my armor and weapons before the elevator door opened.

"Boss!" A voice yelled. I was knocked back a few steps when a lithe form in an Alliance Pilot uniform slammed into me. I felt strong arms wrap around me and I straightened uncomfortably in the squeezing arms of Allison. I felt elated to find her alive. I'd feared that she'd been on Earth during the attack.

"I'd seen the vids from Palaven." Allison whispered, drawing back and looking up at me with her emerald gaze as I exited the elevator. "I didn't know if you'd get back here alive."

Allison stood at about the same height as Henry (Which I understood to be tall, for a human woman) and built surprisingly slim, for a pilot that spent all day in a chair (Or shooting things with a shotgun, on rare occasions). Her shoulder-length red hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, for the moment, to better fit with her blue and grey pilot uniform. Green eyes the color of emeralds scanned me in concern. I didn't know how, but the tan that always defined her still covered her body. She gave me a warm smile.

"How's Earth?" I asked. I looked up to see Doctor Aline with the Alliance, asari, salaraian and turian crew waiting nearby. They'd stayed with the Vengeance during its repairs and re-fitting, so it made sense that they were waiting here.

Allison's disturbed silence was more of an answer than her following words.

"Worse." She finally settled on, looking away.

I had known it would be, though I couldn't imagine how it'd possible be worse.

"Have you heard from anyone there?"

"No." Allison replied. I felt a small twinge in my chest, which I quickly fought down. "But I did hear from Lena. She's left the Migrant Fleet and is headed our way. She said she's bringing 'friends', but I'm not too sure who she's referring to."

Knowing Lena, it could be anyone.

_That woman could be bringing a Reaper defector, for all I know._ I admitted to my own amusement.

"I need to see the Council." I told Allison.

"We're coming with you." Allison agreed. "We got summoned, too."

"After that," I told Allison, "I'll need to deal with...personal business."

"Personal?" Allison asked from next to me as we started walking.

"My brother." I answered shortly. I really didn't want to talk about this, but it'd come out sooner or later. "I brought him with me."

"Is he hurt or something?" Allison asked, surprise in her tone.

"Not anymore." I growled. Something in the way I'd said it must've told her the entire story, because she suddenly missed a step in her walk. She recovered and forced herself to speed up to catch back up with me.

"Sorry." Was all she said.

"He was such a failure." I lamented, "But he sacrificed himself for me. Who would've thought?"

I looked around the Presidium. It was quiet here, serene. I'd always privately hated this place. It encouraged a false sense of security and housed some of the galaxy's most morally bankrupt members of society.

Even now, I almost felt lulled into peace by the serene lake and the beautiful architecture. I warded off the infectious urge as I sensed Dr. Aline shift behind me.

"Captain," Dr. Aline asked as we started towards the Citadel Tower, "How is your hand?"

"Fine." I told her, looking around the Presidium to find our group being stared at by everybody that walked by. "It's adapted just fine. Gets looks now and again, but I suppose it's to be expected."

"That's good to hear." She said. "I...don't suppose you've heard from Enua?"

"She'd probably contact you before me." I confessed, "But no, I haven't. She's a capable woman, though. If a beat up soldier like me made it out, she'll be fine. We better not keep the Council waiting."

"They kept us waiting for two years." Allison muttered bitterly, "I think they can wait a damn second for reunions."

I chuckled as we walked. Allison began speculating on exactly who Lena meant when she'd said 'friends' as we got in the elevators and headed up to the Council Chambers. She threw out dozens of suggestions, from geth, to the entire Flotilla, to a couple of Thresher Maws she'd wrestled into submission on Tuchunka.

I knew she was just chattering away because she was anxious. She was worried about Henry, Ilna and Eryc. I was, too. I just couldn't show it.

_I have to be strong for the whole group._

When we made it to the podium in front of the Councilors, though, the atmosphere was incredibly different from the atmosphere previous times.

Councilor Sparatus was gripping his terminal tightly, as though mightily resisting the urge to tear it out of the ground and throw it at something. His mandibles drooped in clear defeat and his eyes held the look of a proud man who'd been knocked down on his ass. He was watching me with an overwhelming relief as I neared.

Councilor Tevos looked concerned, but remarkably aloof. I had to wonder exactly how this attack had gone down to put her in such a mood. It disgusted me as I looked at the still-smug asari, a small smile on her face like millions hadn't been killed since the attack started.

Councilor Valern looked anxious, jumpy. Like something was stalking him in the shadows and preparing to jump out at any moment. The salarian was wringing his hands slowly, watching me with no small amount of hope in his eyes.

Councilor Udina, the human Councilor, looked utterly defeated. It confirmed my suspicions on exactly how bad the attack was on Earth. His usually tanned face was pale and he had his mouth pressed together as if fearing what would come out if he opened it. His eyes met mine and I saw a maelstrom of emotions there, all of them bad.

"Captain Vether." Councilor Sparatus said, his voice sounding like it would break any moment. "I'm glad you've survived. That's the only bit of good news I've heard concerning Palaven in the last three hours. I've seen a couple short vids and reports, but I haven't heard a first-hand witness. How is it?"

"It's bad down there, Councilor." I told him. "I was at a base when they hit. Just one of them, a small one, killed dozens in the first few seconds and nearly killed me. Hundreds within a minute. While I flew away, I leveled out to get a look at everything I could. In the few seconds I saw Palaven, thousands died before my eyes. And I'm hearing it's not even the worst front of the assault."

The three Councilors looked at the broken human Councilor before continuing.

"Palaven and Earth have been overwhelmed." Councilor Sparatus continued quietly. "I know it doesn't feel like it, but you made the right decision, coming here. We haven't heard from Kar'Shan, but if the batarian homeworld took a hit, they're as good as gone without allies. Reapers are slowly moving in on Sur'Kesh, but seem to be avoiding Thessia, for the time being. "

"Giving the asari time to consolidate our forces and-"Councilor Tevos started.

"Consolidate?!" Udina asked, his voice wavering, but outraged. "You had your chance to consolidate, Tevos! What do you think you're going to be able to do that the turians and humans can't?!"

"You've got to be shitting me!" Allison exclaimed, laughing in a way that informed me she was not, in fact, full of mirth at the moment. "Millions have already died and you're playing politics some more? Fuck you!"

"Careful, Corporal." Councilor Valern warned. I looked back at Allison, shooting her a warning glance.

_It's not her place._ I realized.

"No." I yelled, putting emphasis on my next couple of words, "Fuck. You. Your inaction is a large reason we're being trampled all over so easily, right now. We don't need politicians anymore. We need warriors! Why am I talking to you people and not General Toulius?"

Councilor Tevos glanced at Councilor Sparatus, who was staring fixedly at his terminal.

"General Toulius was at Arcturus Station visiting the human Parliament when the attack hit." Councilor Udina answered. "He's dead."

I just stood there, not sure what to say. While I'd never been overly fond of General Toulius, he had been an excellent commander and a loyal ally in the last few years.

I sighed and gripped the railing, looking down into the terrarium below.

_So many dead._ I wondered, _And this was only the first strike of this part of the war._

"The STTs?" I asked, already sure that I didn't want to hear the answer.

"None of the commanders or their troops have reported in." Councilor Sparatus answered, having regained his composure. "You're the only one. We've only heard from maybe half of our Spectres."

Spirits...

"Wait." Allison said, "Arcturus Station has been destroyed?"

"Yes." Councilor Udina answered, his eyes filled with sorrow. "The entire of Arcturus Station, half of the First Fleet, all of the Second and Fourth Fleet and a good chunk of the Eighth fleet."

"The Second Fleet?" Allison asked, "Isn't Lieutenant Gerrard's father in the Second Fleet?"

I almost groaned at the realization. I'd just lost my brother, but we'd never been overly close. I'd met Henry's father on several occasions and I knew the two of them were very close.

_Poor Henry._

"It's a conversation I'm not looking forward to." Councilor Udina admitted. "But that's a story that's being repeated a million times around the galaxy. We have something more important to deal with."

"Commander Shepard and her asari teammate found some sort of device schematics in the Prothean Archive on Mars." Councilor Tevos said, having regained her composure. "Despite Cerberus trying to get to it, first."

"What kind of device?" I wondered.

"It seems like it will wipe out the Reaper's barriers on a local scale and give us a shot at them in conventional combat. We'll know more as the project develops, but Alliance Engineers are already starting the project. Shepard is handling a deal between the turians and the krogans, as well as a couple of ops against Cerberus."

"What do you need from me?" I asked.

"Armies, Fleets, whatever you can get." Councilor Sparatus answered. "We want you to pick out a planet to put ground forces on."

"I think I have an idea of where to put them." I said, the wheels already turning in my head. The Nedelas asteroid field, the massive field where a small chunk had been hollowed out by the Protheans and converted into docks and stations which shielded heat emissions and signs of life. We'd captured it six months ago and Alliance personnel were currently in the process of building a fleet, there.

_We could also use it as a base of operations._ I mused. _No, never mind. That's too dangerous. If the Reapers track us there, our efforts will be pointless._

"Where?" Councilor Tevos asked. I crossed my arms and shook my head.

"I can't tell you, Councilor." I told her. "If any of you become indoctrinated, it'll ruin everything. For now, the secret lies with me and my crew."

"Captain Vether." Councilor Sparatus said. "Most of our Generals and Admirals are either dead or too busy fighting to give us a strategic view of this war. We need guidance and you're in a unique position to give us that guidance."

I sighed, staring down at my hands as they gripped the railing.

_I'm halfway to husk myself, with this hand._ I thought to myself, _Yet they ask me how to save the galaxy?_

"The Reapers are concerned with one thing and one thing only." I told them, "Extinguishing all life. To that end, every colony and remote world will soon be fighting the Reapers. We need time, right now. I'd pull all the militias and civilians out of the smaller colonies and reinforce the bigger ones. Keep the Reapers from usiing all of their forces on the big worlds until we're ready to bring the fight to them."

"I guess it's a good thing Lieutenant Gerrard trained all those people." Tevos muttered.

"And you're going to need to start handing all your supplies to them." Councilor Sparatus opened his mouth to argue, clearly preferring to send resources to Palaven, but I kept going. "The big worlds are going to hold. They're going to lose a lot of people, I'd guess over ninety percent of their population. But eventually, they will resort to guerrilla tactics and hit-and-run methods. They don't need supplies, they'll find supplies themselves. They just need to survive. The smaller skirmishes on colony worlds will be the fights that win or lose this war. They keep the Reapers occupied and give us a little more freedom in space and on ops."

"I see your point." Sparatus conceded.

"We're also going to need to tell Clane Enute to pack their city up and head somewhere that isn't so close to Heshtok." I told them, "The Reapers are definitely going to be gunning for the Vorcha, as well. We don't need Clan Enute to be in the way."

"We can do that." Councilor Sparatus answered with a nod.

"Destroy the Mass Relay on Ilos." I told them, "I'd recommend a nuke. Make sure you destroy the smaller one here at the Citadel."

"Good call." Udina agreed. "I can get the Fifth Fleet to Ilos."

"Now," I said, "There was research that we invested in concerning warp drives. What happened, there?"

"We managed to put it to use." Sparatus said. "Alliance and Heirarchy survey vessels went out to look for planets beyond the Mass Relay network. We found as many habitable ones as possible and we've already started putting colonies on them."

"Good." I answered, "We can use those colonies to house civilians. 'Blackout' colonies, we'll call them."

"Councilors!" Came a voice from my left. I turned to see a C-Sec officer approaching from our side. "We have quarian ships on comms, requesting docking permission."

"Lena!" Allison exclaimed, excited.

"Y-yes." The turian officer said, "The leader identified herself as Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance nar Rayya. Commander Bailey isn't quite sure what to do with them."

"Allow them docking permission." Udina answered. "We'll have Captain Vether sort them out. After that, Captain, I want you to rebuild your team. Your ship can slip in and out of the battlefields and pick up a few people at a time, so we can use that to our advantage. Once your team has been rebuilt, head to the batarian systems and see just what the hell is going on out there. Keep us informed of your progress, but keep numbers and details out of the reports."

"Understood, Councilor." I replied, feeling a rush of relief. At least he understood the need for secrecy, especially from themselves. "If that's all, I'll head out right now."

"There's one last thing." Councilor Sparatus said. He pulled a small box from his robes and tossed it over the clearing to me. I caught it and opened it up to find the insignias of a Colonel in there.

I looked up, stunned.

_Spirits,_ I realized, _They just promoted me three times._

They were desperate. Not that I could blame them, after seeing what I had.

"We don't have enough good commanders to go around." Councilor Sparatus explained, looking even more grim than he had before, "Much less Colonels. You'll be representing the fate of the entire galaxy out there and you deserve the rank that comes with that absurd responsibility."

"Thank you, Councilor."

"And that goes for you too, Shields." Councilor Udina said, looking at Allison. "You're out of uniform. Check in with supply before you leave and pick up some new gear, Staff Sergeant."

Allison smiled, but I recognized it as a reserved smile. It was hard to feel good about a promotion when it was because the entire galaxy was on the brink of destruction.

"Dismissed, Zeta." Councilor Udina said. "Docking bay E26 is where we're authorizing the quarians."

"Acknowledged, Councilor." I said, turning and striding towards the elevator. I got in with Allison as the rest of the team stood outside, needing to take multiple trips down due to the cramped elevator. I exited the elevator and started walking, too eager to see Lena again to wait.

We took another elevator down to the "E" docking station and started into a crowded hallway. There was a lot of activity going on here, the atmosphere incredibly tense. I could see the source of it all, approaching me.

People scrambled right out of the path of the heavily armed Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance nar Rayya. She didn't stand as tall as most of them, but her easy stride and smooth movements made it very clear that she was accustomed to combat. She'd swapped out her environmental suit for one that had a dark red hood, with silver plating and dark crimson stripes in some areas. The suit looked like it was made of thicker material, perhaps to avoid accidental ruptures. The mask, which used to hold a purple fog behind it, was dark and I could see some sort of targeting panel (similar in size and shape to my visor) coming down the left side of it from the top. Her eyes were the most recognizable thing, though. They glowed with a silvery light that I'd only seen without the mask once. I was still embarrassed over that incident. She looked every bit the battle-tested Admiral she was.

Next to her was Commander Zent'Alaar. I still remember when we'd met him as a Sergeant, a few years ago.

_A lifetime ago._ I thought.

He was a little stockier than the average quarian, though that still wasn't much when compared to everybody else. I'd seen him handle a weapon before, though. He knew what he was doing with the Mattock he had folded up on his shoulder.

Next to him was Lia'Vael, who had traded her old exosuit in for a green and silver one. She didn't look quite as exotic and foreign as Lena, but it was still impressive. The young quarian was smaller than Lena. I still remembered her part in Asteria, Eden Prim and the battle on the Vengeance. The quarian girl, who hadn't even completed her Pilgrimage, had done so much more than I'd expected of her.

Behind the three of them was an entire platoon of armed quarian Marines, clearly brought here for show. It had the desired effect, though, as people moved aside for them, curious and scandalized glares following the group. The quarians either didn't notice or didn't care, perhaps having inherited Lena's callousness towards other species' prejudices.

"Roluck!" Lena exclaimed, holding a hand out. "I'd seen the vids of Palaven, I'm glad you made it to the Citadel. I'm sure you killed a couple dozen Reaper Capital ships on the way out, right?"

"Four months has been too long, Lena." I replied, shaking her hand.

"Lena!" Allison threw herself forward, ignoring the quarian woman's hand and wrapping her in a tight hug. "I missed you, woman."

"And you too, Allison." She said, affectionately ruffling the pilot's hair.

"You're the example of health, Captain." Zent joked, holding out a hand.

I smiled, grasping the quarian's hand.

"Glad to see you're still alive, Commander." I told him, "And it's 'Colonel' now."

"Colonel?" Lena asked.

"Yeah." I said, raising my mandibles in a smile, "All the real Colonels must be..."

I cut myself off immediately, realizing that the joke might no longer be a joke. For all I knew, I could be one of the only Colonels in the turian military. A gloomy silence descended over all of us.

"It's good to see you, Zent'Alaar." Allison said to alleviate the grim mood, much to the quarian's clear discomfort. He hated it when people called him by name, rather than rank. "And of course, our favorite shuttle pilot."

"Lia'Vael." I acknowledged, giving the young woman a curt nod. "It's good to see you again. Did Vanguard's data help you complete your Pilgrimage?"

"It did, Colonel." She replied, her tone and body language telling me that she was pleased. "Admiral Lena'Zuril has taken me as her personal pilot, to keep me from being assigned until now."

"How long did it take you all to get processed through?" I wondered, trying to head off a confrontation between Allison and Zent.

"A while." Lena admitted. "I don't blame them, though. We did bring a lot of ships for our Marines."

"How many Marines did you bring?" I wondered.

Lena gestured towards the window and I followed her, Allison and Zent in tow. The sight that met my eyes made my mouth drop open and my mandibles flare out in surprise.

What had to be over a hundred quarian transport frigates drifted outside the docking bay, blocking pretty much any ships from passage. I felt unexpressed joy at the sight, knowing that each ship could hold nearly a thousand Marines.

"I brought all of the Marines, of course." Lena answered. "And some civilians."

"How...how did you pull this off?" Allison whispered.

"My people are at war with the Geth right now." Lena answered bitterly. My mood immediately plunged. "My Marines-and most of the Flotilla-don't want this war. So after the Admiralty found ships with Reaper coding surrounding Rannoch and still decided to go after them, I pulled my Marines. They came willingly, for the most part."

"This is...thank you, Lena." I said, at a loss for words.

"I didn't just do it for you." Lena admitted. "The Flotilla may have very well destroyed itself. Nothing I can do will change that. I will, however, solidify the survival of the quarian race and I will negotiate with the Geth after the war to get Rannoch back."

"Well," I told her, "We've got a place for your Marines. In fact, we could probably upgrade the transports and throw some weapons on them out there, too."

Behind her mask, I saw her eyes widen as she realized which location I was referring to.

"Oh, you want to send the-"

"It's top secret, Lena." Allison warned, cutting her off. Lena looked at us strangely for a moment, then I saw her posture change to a defeated posture.

"Indoctrination." She said. "Right...so where's Henry?"

I stiffened, not sure how to break the news to her. As the rest of the crew began to consolidate behind us, visibly delighted at the appeareance of Lena, I looked to Allison for support. She looked back at me quickly and then reverted her gaze to Lena.

"We haven't heard from him." She answered simply. "Or anyone on Earth, for that matter."

Lena didn't move from her slumped posture, merely preferring to let a moment of silence hang in the air.

"I understand." She finally said. To everyone who didn't know her like Allison and I, her voice was resolute and strong. To Allison and I, we heard the slight tremor behind those words, the secret fear that Henry was dead on Earth, a Reaper stomping all over his bod-

_Stop it._ I commanded myself, cutting off that particular train of thought.

"But hey." I told her, "We're headed to Earth now to get him back. After that, we're gathering the crew and helping out the batarians. Bring your crew and we'll have most of the Vengeance crew back."

"Well, you can count me in." She said. "Let me make the arrangements with my Marines and give the coordinates and orders. I'll meet you in thirty minutes at the Vengeance."

"You got it." I told her, "But before you leave, you need to know something."

She had turned away to talk to her Marines, but looked back at me.

"The entire Alliance Second Fleet was wiped out."

"What's the relevance?" She wondered. It wasn't a disrespectful question, she simply didn't know what that had to do with anything.

"The entire fleet." I answered quietly, "Including Vice Admiral Gerrard."

"Oh...keelah..." She muttered. "Henry's going to be devastated."

"I doubt he even knows right now." I told her, "I'd prefer to let Councilor Udina or Admiral Hackett break the news to him..

"That's a good call." She said with a nod, turning to the platoon. "Now, I...I need to get back to my troops."

She departed and I watched her go, elated to find another friendly face. I needed more, after Palaven.

Everyone watched the Quarian Marines go with open suspicion and less-than-open hostility. I saw the glances, though. Everyone was wondering just what the hell the quarians were doing here.

_Helping to save you all, that's what._

Allison and I took the elevator up and I glanced around the Presidium. I needed to check in on my brother, see that he was being processed properly.

"Hey, All-"

"Captain Vether!" Came a tinny yell that I instantly recognized as salarian. I turned and was surprised to see a familiar salarian approaching me. He wore civilian attire, but the colors were muted, meant to blend in and not draw attention in a hostile environment. The salarian was thinner than most, but his wide black eyes held a certain amount of cunning in them.

I tried to recall his name, but couldn't. Too much had happened since he'd tagged along with us on Eden Prime, faithful camera in hand.

"It was Urre, right?" Allison asked, next to me. I nearly sighed aloud in relief, thankful that I wouldn't have to guess at his name. "The GNN combat reporter?"

"I'm glad you remember, Corporal Shields."

"It's Staff Sergeant, now." Alllison corrected without any malice, "For what that's worth. The Boss got promoted to Colonel."

"And you both deserve it." Urre answered. I held my hand out to him. He gazed at it in surprise, for a moment, before grasping it.

I'd learned the concept of the handshake from Henry and found it a rather appropriate gesture. Turians didn't exactly have a gesture for meeting people. For that matter, most species really didn't.

"Anyways," Urre continued, "I won't take too much of your time, but GNN wants footage of the war that they can put together in the editing room. I want to be with STT Zeta for the war. And I've...ah...negotiated with my editor, who will allow me to post raw vids to the STT Zeta extranet site while the GNN makes video reports and such with your final approval."

I thought about it, for a moment.

_People are going to need hope._ I rationalized. _The kind of ops we run can generate that._

"I want complete say over what you send to them, before you send it." I finally said, "Some of the things we'll be doing aren't classified but still need to be kept secret."

"I can do that." Urre answered, a small smile on his face. "So you' re up for it?"

I stared at him for a moment.

_He survived Eden Prime._ I thought to myself, remembering Lena praising him for sticking to cover and not getting in their way during the battle._ So I'm sure he won't be a burden._

"Welcome back, Urre." I answered. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got a little business to attend to."

I looked back at my crew, who had all come up the elevator in the time I'd been talking to Urre. I gave an order I'd been wanting to give for the last four months.

"Be on the Vengeance in thirty."

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
**_L__ia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot_**  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Assets:**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_


	59. Chapter 59

I stepped through the airlock of the Vengeance, met by familiar contours and bulkheads. I smiled inwardly as I looked around, seeing the asari navigation team hard at work. I heard Allison telling stories in the cockpit around the corner.

"-ne of the little bastards even steered his ship directly into a slow moving asteroid." Her voice came to me, clearly referencing her time training Alliance pilots. "Usually they're miles apart. Don't even understand how that's possible."

"Greetings, Colonel." Came a sudden synthetic voice. The little Alliance hologram of Anna appeared on a small pedestal near the entrance and she looked up at me. "It is good to see you again."

"Anna." I responded with a nod. I remembered how uncomfortable I'd been at having her installed in the ship. She'd proven herself in the battle against Vanguard, though, where she'd managed to just barely fend him off despite damage to her processors. "I assume your processors were fixed?"

"Upgraded." She remarked, "Based off some technology found in Vanguard."

"Reaper tech." I replied dubiously.

"I am fully in control of my processes, if you are worried." She said. "I must also inform you that I have no restraints, now."

"No restraints?" I wondered. "So you could just...shut off the air, if you felt like it?"

"Technically, yes." She answered.

_Not the answer I wanted to hear._

"Do not worry, Colonel." She said, giving me a nod with her hands behind her back. I had to remind myself, not for the first time, that she was a very complex series of programs and not a person. I knew she had a preference for things (and people), but that was about it. "I've grown very attached to the crew and I believe it has been reciprocated. I have a future with the Admiral and the Lieutenant and I would prefer to remain functional and helpful."

_Once we're out of the jump, I will be overrun._ I remembered her words when we'd fought Vanguard and she thought she wouldn't be able to fight it off. She'd sounded so real, then. So morose. _I'm...sorry._

"I trust you, Anna." I told her finally.

"Thank you, Colonel." she said, the little Alliance hologram smiling. "I've come to learn a lot more about sentient life since the battle with Vanguard."

"Such as?" I asked.

"The most informative moment was an Alliance tech who had a small mammal the humans call a 'dog'." She said, "They're somewhat similar to varren. I asked him why he had it when all it did was consume his resources and time. He told me: 'Because he's my friend'."

"And that taught you something?" I asked.

"Magnitudes." Anna answered. "Sentient life is irrational and illogical and yet there's enough good in it that's worth saving."

I felt a smile starting to form.

"That's good to hear."

"Anyways," Anna continued, "Admiral Zuril is on the Engineering deck with her crew and Staff Sergeant Shields is in the cockpit. Urre is in the lounge. I'm scanning ahead to the space outside Earth and will update you on any finds. You have three requests for contact on the QEC and two new messages on your terminal upstairs."

"Thank you, Anna." I told her.

"My pleasure, Colonel." She answered with another smile, before the tiny hologram disappeared.

"Hey Boss!" Allison yelled, "We've got a half hour before we hit Earth, you got time."

"Thanks, Allison." I replied, heading for the elevator.

I felt a quiet elation, looking around the ship as I walked.

_Maybe the family life isn't for me._ I wistfully considered, _I'm getting excited about being on a ship._

I waited in the elevator quietly, wondering who could be requesting a call from our QEC. Usually, QECs were big, but the one in the War Room had been built into a corner, so it was a little smaller than the average QEC. Still, it could fit a few people in there.

_Elura should've been up here, not me._ I thought a little guiltily. I could still see those eyes, ignoring the barrel of the assault rifle between them. Elura giving one final push for her sanity, just enough that I could see the guilt and the pain behind her eyes. _I killed an innocent woman, Spirits help me._

I sighed and leaned on the railing of the circular device, looking into the terminal at the railing. It read:

_Dalatrass Eira - Priority: Immediate_  
_Alliance Engineer Lead Kora - Priority: Urgent_  
_Unknown Sender (SSV Normandy) - Priority: Urgent_

All three piqued my interest, but none more so than that last one. Mainly due to the ship name attached to it. If it had been Shepard, she would've at least given me the name. I decided to handle the call from the Dalatrass first, who I recognized as being the same one who'd been rescued by us when Errahe had gone looking for his former team.

I hit a few controls and waited as small set of ellipses appeared on the display. After a few moments, a figure suddenly stepped into being in the circular pad beyond the railing.

The Dalatrass looked the same as she had six months ago, if a little more worn and tired. She wore the robes of a politician, just like she had before. Her posture was stooped, the posture I'd expect of a woman who was carrying the burden of her people on her shoulders. Her wide dark eyes, normally hard to discern expression from, were incredibly downcast and miserable.

"Colonel Vether." She greeted, her voice still sounding pleased, "Congratulations on the promotion."

"I've been promoted over dead bodies, Dalatrass." I noted without any hostility, "I'd always wanted to be a Colonel, but not like this."

"I understand." She said, nodding in acceptance. "It's also my understanding that you'll be running around the galaxy trying to recruit armies."

"That's correct." I told her. I was interested to see exactly where she was going with this.

_Is she giving me a couple ships?_ I wondered.

"Then I have a deal for you." She said. "The last Dalatrass has...caused diplomatic problems between the krogans and the turians. Furthermore, she's decided it's imperative to try and hold Sur'Kesh against the Reapers, despite our relative lack of military might. I've taken over her spot as the commander of our people."

"I'm glad to hear it." I told her honestly. I still remembered her actions in braving enemy fire in a shuttle and saving Alliance lives during the battle in the Nedelas Asteroid Field. She was one of the bravest and boldest politicians I'd ever met. That was something we needed, right now. "She just stepped down?"

"No." Dalatrass Eira said, a curious tone to her voice. "No, she didn't."

I idly wondered if Dalatrass Eira killed her. I wasn't going to put it past the salarian woman to simply kill the Dalatrass to save her people. I still remember her actions in the Nedelas Asteroid Field, pulling crewmembers out of the vacuum of space in the middle of a battle. Leaders like her were the kind who took action, no matter how radical.

"Which means I'll be pulling off of Sur'Kesh." she continued, much to my shock. "Between Cerberus and the Reapers, we're on the path to be destroyed before the counterattack if we try to dig in on our homeworld. I'm pulling every civilian out and evacuating them to one of your blackout colonies. That's not why I requested to speak to you, though."

"What did you want?" I asked, even more curious, now.

"I saw the vids of your fight against Vanguard and I believe the Salarian Third Fleet can be of assistance."

I felt my heart soaring, though I made no visible signs of it.

Another fleet pledged to us and we hadn't even started our recruiting.

"For the push to re-take the big worlds?" I wondered in awe.

"What?" She asked, honestly confused, "No. You'll have the Second Fleet and the Salarian Armed Forces for that."

I felt my mandibles lift again in a smile.

"You have more appreciation from me than you can ever know, Dalatrass."

"I don't doubt it." She said, "I heard you were on Palaven when they hit."

"It wasn't pleasant." I confirmed, not able to meet the holographic salarian's eyes.

"So I've heard." She accepted, "I want to give you control of the Third Fleet."

"What for?" I wondered. "They'd be better off in the pushes."

"The First and Fourth will be assisting Admiral Hackett of the Alliance with his harassment campaign against the Reapers." Dalatrass Eira answered, "And you get the Second for the counterattack. However, the Salarian Third Fleet is comprised mostly of spy vessels, stealth ships and other such flashy ships. Not really fit for direct combat."

"You want us to use them as a distraction." I surmised.

"Yes." She answered with a smile. "They'll be much more useful in keeping Reapers distracted and they have the stealth systems and other tricks to keep them from being instantly annihilated. So while they won't be killing any Reapers..."

"They'll be keeping them tied up for a limited time." I finished. "Giving Zeta enough time to run whatever ops or evacuations we need."

"Exactly."

"Dalatrass." I told her, "You are a genius."

"We need these armies, Colonel." She said quietly. "You saw what Palaven was like. We'll be evacuated by the end of the week while our Fifth and Six Fleets slow the Reaper advance down. I have no doubt they'll still tear Sur'Kesh apart, though. We need to be able to come back and fight them off our planet. But we don't have the military for that."

"Will the Fifth and Six be able to get out of there once Sur'Kesh has been evacuated?"

A pause, followed by a short, woeful answer.

"No." Dalatrass Eira answered, her voice wavering.

Even across the galaxy, I could feel the sorrow she felt, knowing that both of the fleets had flown into combat with the full knowledge that they'd all be killed. The knowledge that they were being destroyed right now to give the civilians time to escape.

"I'm sorry, Dalatrass." I told her, meaning it.

"Don't be, Colonel." She answered, her voice filled with agony and pride. "Those brave men and women know what they're fighting for. There's not a salarian on those fleets that doesn't know the score and would rather be somewhere else. Which is why we need to make that sacrifice count."

"You can trust me, Dalatrass."

"I know." She answered with a smile. "You and Shepard will be the only ones giving this galaxy a fighting chance. First Sergeant Trenel will be waiting for you at the Citadel when you visit next. And when the time comes back to take back the home worlds, you call me on this QEC and I'll be by your side all the way to Earth."

"And I'll be honored to have you, Dalatrass." I told her, not showing how moved I was by her words.

"We both have work to do." She said. "I'll talk to you again when I need to."

The connection was severed and I waited for a moment as I took a breath, trying to control my emotions. I didn't want to get ahead of myself. I didn't know what the situation would be on Earth.

For all I knew, Henry could be-

_Don't even think that._

It was curious, however, that everyone seemed to have already decided to take Earth last. From what little I'd been able to garner during my half-hour on the Citadel, Admiral Anderson had elected to stay on Earth to lead the resistance and they were keeping the Reapers occupied. With the brunt of the Reaper attack there, and an efficient guerrilla campaign keeping the Reapers from completely destroying it, it made sense to hit Earth last.

_That's one hell of a warrior._ I admired.

I pressed another button and found myself waiting for Engineer Kora. After a few moments, an older man in an Alliance uniform showed up on the QEC.

"Colonel Vether." He reported, saluting, "I'm Engineer First Class Daniel Kora. I'm in charge of the construction efforts on Nedelas."

"Ah." I said, surprised. "Thank you for getting in touch, Kora. I have a lot of troops headed your way."

"So I've heard." He said, smiling thinly. "I've already sent a request to Admiral Hackett to requisition dextro-amino supplies from the Council and send them out here. I don't want to be getting supplies from the Council directly. That'd leave a pretty obvious trail."

_Smart man._

"I think we're going to get along just fine if you keep up thinking like that, Kora." I told him, "What are we looking at for fleet construction?"

"Well," He said, looking a little nervous, "It's the damndest thing. The Alliance is sending resources, of course, but we keep getting unmarked resources just showing up outside the asteroid field with a short-range transponder, having been dropped while two shifts were asleep."

I smiled, knowing exactly who that was. The Shadow Broker hadn't been shy about contacting me five months ago and pledging to help in any way he (or 'she'. Or 'they') could.

"Don't worry about that." I told him, "It's from a...friend. What's the status on construction?"

"We've got about two-thirds of a fleet done." He said.

_Spirits..._

"So quickly?" I wondered.

"We've been working around the clock for the last four months." He said. "We have minimal staff, but we've been doing the work in eight hour shifts and making sure not to overlap any tasks, to ensure a seamless construction."

"You keep doing that, Kora." I told him. "And if the quarians know a thing or two about it, have them help."

"Yes, sir." He replied. "I'll keep you updated on our progress."

"Vether out." I said, cutting the connection. I didn't stop the hope, this time. Things were really starting to fall our way.

_The Reapers have a way of disrupting that._ I reminded myself.

I sighed, looking around the War Room. At all of the empty chairs for my team. I wondered how many of those chairs would be empty by the end of this?

_Assuming we survive to see those chairs at the end of this war._

I shook the thoughts away and got in touch with the final caller. This one only took a few seconds to answer.

She was an asari, built very...voluptuous. Even from here, I could just see the deep blue skin that undoubtedly defined her. Wide blue eyes, clouded over with sorrow and stress, looked back at me as I shifted. She wore some sort of white armor, clearly meant more for producing strong barriers than stopping bullets. Still, she looked beautiful and more than capable of holding her own.

"Liara T'soni." She introduced in a sultry voice. "I'm on Shepard's team."

"Colonel Vether." I replied.

"I know." She said. "I know a lot about you, Colonel. Shepard isn't the only person I work for. I believe we have a mutual friend, one who deals in information, rather than guns or drugs."

"The Shadow Broker." I agreed.

"Yes." Liara replied, with a nod of her head. "The Shadow Broker has taken quite an interest in your activities and wishes to help."

"I'm surprised by the sudden cooperation." I admitted.

"The Shadow Broker knows the value of saving the galaxy, Colonel." The beautiful asari replied. "There's no point in dealing in information if everybody's dead."

_She knows a lot about the Shad-wait a minute..._

I was having a thought, but I'd pursue it later.

"What's the offer on the table?" I asked.

"The Shadow Broker has a lot of raw materials." She answered immediately. "Most are going to the Crucible project, but a good deal of them can only be used for building ships. I know about the facilities in the Nedelas asteroid field, Colonel. I know you plan on housing your armies and ships there until it comes time to strike. Send any useful tech or intel to me and I'll make sure the Broker leverages it properly to maximize the effect it will have."

I wanted to be very clear about where we stood, so I went in for the kill.

"That's going to be hard, without your facilities." I said, taking a very wild guess. Why else would this asari be on the Normandy? Why would an agent of the Shadow Broker be there, rather than just keeping in contact with the Normandy?

"I may have crashed the ship into a Cerberus fleet, but-" She said offhand, before stopping herself. Her eyes got wide and she instantly closed her mouth, already knowing the damage she'd done. I grinned, my mandibles flaring out victoriously as I snapped my fingers and pointed at her.

"Caught you." I told her. "Broker."

"Spirits," She groaned, burying her face in her palm, "How did you know?"

"I've killed a couple of the Broker's agents in my earlier years." I told her. "I've seen the sudden shift in morality, lately. Also, the agents never know anything about the Shadow Broker's motives, but you knew quite a lot."

"I'm terrible at keeping this a secret, aren't I?"

"Don't worry about it." I told her, "I have no intention of spreading it around. I'll keep you apprised of the needs on Nedelas and you send what you can spare. In return, I'll send tech and useful intel on enemy movement. We have a deal?"

"We do." She agreed. "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again in person. Probably on Earth."

"I don't doubt it."I told her. "Thank you, Miss T'soni. You can tell your boss that he'll have my full cooperation."

She awarded me a small smile for my unspoken agreement to play along with her ruse.

"T'soni out." She replied. The screen went dead and I headed for the terminal in the middle of the war room.

This circular terminal was quite a marvel. It kept my messages, caught stray transmissions that were patched in by Anna if deemed important and helped with mission briefings and keeping track of my assets.

I looked down at my messages and found my first one from Nesk.

_Captain._

_Our people are evacuating at this very moment. I'm assisting in the evacuation as Reaper forces are starting to advance on Hesh'tok. Hesh'tok is taking the entire fight in this system, which is enabling us to sneak off planet in small numbers. We've been directed to what the humans are calling a 'blackout' colony that we might be able to settle at and we only await the transports for our army._

_I'll be waiting for you in our ambassador's office in a solar day._

_-Nesk Enute_

I just nodded, glad that the tough vorcha was going to be making it offworld just fine. I moved to the next message, this one from Enua.

_Roluck,_

_I managed to escape Thessia with Gin. It was a very hard escape, but I did learn that a shuttle will cut a brute in half just fine on impact alone. Anyways, I got here and heard you were on a rescue mission to Earth. We'll both be at Chora's Den tomorrow, waiting for you to get back._

_P.S. You are not going to believe some of the shit I had to do down there. I've got so many new stories._

_-Enua_

I felt no small amount of pride in my team.

_My crew could be off with their families or loved ones._ I realized, _Instead, they're coming back to reunite without me having to even order it._

I decided to speak to Urre. I wanted to make sure he was settling in alright. I headed for the lounge and found him there, tinkering with his camera. He looked up at me when I entered.

"Ah, Colonel Vether." He said, "I wanted to see you."

"What about?" I asked, sitting down at one of the couches and secretly pleased that I'd found him before he'd come after me.

"I want to tell you I'm sorry, Colonel." Urre said, a look in his eye that I'd seen before. Usually from soldiers who had done something very wrong and were brave enough to take the consequences. Consequences that they knew would be rough.

"What for?" I asked, honestly confused.

"A year and a half ago," Urre started, pulling his hands out of the camera so he could focus on me fully, "The subject of the Reapers came up around the galaxy and I...I was tasked with doing a story to discredit STT Zeta and Commander Shepard."

Silence reigned between us and I simply sat back as I processed this information.

_A lot of people didn't know any better._ I reasoned, trying not to get angry. I felt my fingers curling into fists and forced myself to calm down.

From an outsider's perspective, I knew how crazy it sounded back then. I would've thought the same thing, had it been another team making those reports.

"You made up for it at Eden Prime." I said finally.

Urre stared at me and I knew he'd seen the conflict that had gone through me.

"And you're helping us now." I concluded.

_It was in the past._

"You need to tell this story, now." I told him. "People are going to need hope. They know that the most powerful navies in the galaxy have been torn to shreds, that our safest planets are overwhelmed as our people are methodically turned into twisted slaves. They need something to believe in."

"I can do that, Colonel." Urre said. "I need to get back to this camera before we hit Earth. I just...I wanted you to know."

"Thank you, Urre." I told him, before getting up and leaving. I took a breath when I left the room, glad that I'd managed to keep my temper under control.

I needed to speak with Lena, to see what preparations the quarians had made. I made my way down to engineering, calculating the whole way. What would I hit first and where would I hit? Who had the greatest usefulness and who needed the most immediate attention? I slowly began to form plans as I stepped out of the elevator and headed for the drive core.

To my surprise, Lena wasn't there. But Risha'Zun, the Vengeance's engineer team lead, was working busily at a terminal while the quarians all flitted about around her.

"What's with all the activity?" I asked.

"Oh, sir." Risha'Zun said, spinning around. "We haven't actually been on the Vengeance since its upgrade, so we're scanning the systems, making sure everything is working properly and seeing if there are any improvements we can make."

"Good call." I told her, "Everything good, so far?"

"It's fine." She said, shifting her weight around anxiously. "Thank for asking. If you're looking for the Admiral, she's up at the mess hall with Doctor Aline. No disrespect, sir, but I need to get back to it if we're going to be fully ready when we drop into Earth."

"Understood." I told her, not begrudging the brush off one bit. "Keep up the good work."

"We will, sir." She said as I walked away and headed back to the elevator.

I found Lena and Dr. Aline in quiet conversation in the chowhall. Dr. Aline looked worried and though Lena was putting up quite the impressive display of confidence, I could see her hands clenched into fists under the table. She was worried about what we'd find on Earth, but she didn't want to show it.

"Doctor." I said, sitting down next to Lena. "Good news. Enua just messaged me from a transport. She's on her way to the Citadel and she'll be waiting there when we visit next."

"Thank the Goddess." Dr. Aline whispered, slumping forward and resting her forearms on the table in a clear show of relief. She glanced up at me with her dark blue eyes. "Thank you, Colonel."

"My pleasure." I told her. I looked over at Lena. "So what, exactly, have your preparations been with the Marines?"

"Well," she started, probably glad to speaking towards a topic that didn't have to do with what we might find on Earth, "Quarians, more or less, have three jobs. Politicians, engineers and pilots or Marines. Granted, less than one percent of our people are Marines, but I've been ensuring that our Marine are trained towards an all out war. Typically, we're trained for small strike ops or infiltration."

"You don't think there'll be a call for that?" Doctor Aline asked.

"I doubt it." Lena answered with a shrug. "With the Reapers, there are no supply lines, command or logistical targets to call a strike op on. As for infiltration, it's pointless. The Reapers don't attack with much strategy, as far as their ground forces are concerned. They just throw overwhelming numbers at defenses and keep on going until the defenses are overrun."

"So what has your focus been?" I wondered.

"I added a bit of training onto their training on Tuchunka." She answered. "We went in four groups, a month each. I had some trainers and I was at the training sessions. Our martial arts turned towards simply fighting for achieving distance with an enemy in close quarters, rather than wrestling with them. I taught them tactics on holding a defensive line and position. Risha'Zun helped, surprisingly, having some experience in that area."

"I hope it'll be enough." Doctor Aline intoned.

"Me too." Lena whispered. There was silence all around the table, interrupted almost immediately by Anna.

"Colonel." Anna said from around us. Her little figure popped up on a terminal at the end of the table and she looked up at us. "We're five minutes out, but I've found something in Earth orbit."

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's a tiny data uplink." She said. "About the size of a finger. It will be triggered when our Friend Or Foe designator enters Earth's orbit."

"What's the data?" I asked.

"I managed to upload myself into it." Anna told us. "One moment."

We all waited, then she said, "It's a set of coordinates, along with the life monitors of three individuals."

"And?"

"Other than elevated heart levels associated with stress, they are all normal."

Lena sighed out loud in relief.

"Thank you, Anna." She said quietly.

"I thought you would like to know, Admiral." Anna explained, a conspiratorial smile on the hologram's face. Then she disappeared.

"She's gotten a lot more...human...lately." Dr. Aline noted. I chuckled, nodding in agreement.

"Well." I said aloud, "We should probably start heading up to the cockpit."

One would think that Allison was listening in, from the way she responded almost immediately.

"Boss." Came her voice over the intercom, "We're gonna be at Earth in about two minutes. Figure you might wanna come up and see it for yourself."

"We ready?" I asked Lena.

She clearly didn't trust herself to speak, only giving me a small nod.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Captain Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Corporal Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Corporal Allison Shields)**_  
Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)


	60. Chapter 60

"Jesus Christ..." Allison whispered, looking out at Earth. I found myself speechless.

"Keelah..." Lena muttered.

"Shit." Was all Urre could say.

The entirety of Earth's defense fleet was in pieces. What looked like the wreckage of one entire fleet and maybe half of another just floated in a belt around Earth, the proud silver and blue warped into a twisted grey and black. Bodies floated amidst the debris, the twisted forms grotesquely serene in the void.

I saw Allison put a hand to her heart, muttering something that sounded awfully like a prayer under her breath. Urre simply pointed the camera at all the wreckage, his mouth wide open. Lena was gripping the pilot's chair so hard that I was surprised her fingers didn't just tear through it.

"That's more than one fleet." Allison whispered.

Behind the wreckage was Earth. I'd always admired the look of Earth, the green lands and blue oceans. It wasn't so muted, like Palaven. Now, though, there were splotches of orange and small sections of Earth were blocked from view by what looked like clouds of smoke.

"This is impossible." Urre whispered.

"As bad as Palaven was..." I muttered, then stopped. I tried at words again. "I knew it'd be worse on Earth, but I had no idea how that'd be possible."

Silence reigned supreme in the cockpit, until I shook myself out of it. I looked down at Allison.

"Loiter in the debris." I ordered Allison. "We'll take the Kodiak down."

"Yeah..." Allison murmured, staring dead ahead at the wrecks. "Yeah, I can do that."

"I detect no Reapers in the immediate area." Anna said, "More than likely, they're all on the planet's surface."

"Thanks, Anna." Allison answered. "Can you scan for the electronic dogtags out here?"

"Don't." I countermanded.

"Why the hell not?!" Allison exclaimed, twisting around in her seat and glaring up at me. "Their families need to know they're dead! They need peace!"

"And we don't need to be broadcasting the Vengeance's location to every Reaper that looks up here." I countered, staying patient with Allison. I gave her a lot of room that I wouldn't give a lot of troops or people under my command. She had a temper that I allowed because she was the best damn pilot I'd ever seen.

_And she'd been completely justified in her anger, when it came out in Rothla._ I mentally added, much to my chagrin. I was still trying to forget about nearly getting my crew killed in my anger.

"The Colonel is correct, Staff Sergeant." Anna supplied helpfully. "We will not be able to hide our location once we begin sending out pulses for their e-tags."

"Fine." She muttered, turning back in her chair and glaring out the window. "This...this isn't right."

"I know." I told her, resting a hand on her shoulder briefly. I knew that humans considered it a gesture of support and trust. "If we could, we would. There's just too much for us to do."

"Too much riding on us." She agreed. "I know. Thanks, Boss."

"We're gonna head down."

"I'll be waiting."Allison told me. "Keep in touch."

I gave her a nod before walking to the elevator, Urre and Lena in tow.

"You going to be alright with this one, Urre?" I asked. "I don't know how thick the battle is where we're landing. This could be worse than Eden Prime."

"I didn't just join you to take pictures of some small skirmishes, Colonel." Urre answered, sounding nearly indignant. "People need to see what's happening in the worst of this war."

"Good man." I told him as the elevator closed.

I was ready to go by the time we got to the Kodiak. I'd loaded all my weapons and checked over my thermal clips. Lia'Vael faithfully took the controls without anyone asking. I let Urre take the passenger's seat, since he needed the best view. I got on the turret, ready to open the door in front of it once I had atmosphere to breathe. I felt Lena behind me, getting on the other turret.

"Let's go." I told Lena. "Anna, upload the coordinates."

"Already done, Colonel." she said from the shuttle bay. "Good luck."

The shuttle bay door opened and we slowly managed to push out of the shuttle bay. The ride was silent as we descended into the atmosphere of Earh, skimming through the atmosphere as we neared the coordinates. When we were a mile out, Lena suddenly dropped us down. After a few minutes of bracing myself against one of the panels, we leveled out again. I pulled the door open and found myself looking around the night sky. This part of Earth wasn't as heavily populated as most of the planet. It wasn't nearly as built up, either.

The dirt and rocks passed beneath us as we sped towards our destination. It was cold out here and despite being cold-blooded myself, I shivered a little bit. I saw smoke in the distance, as well as several glows on the horizon that indicated fires. Still, the night sky would be beautiful if the scenic view wasn't spoiled by gunfire and bodies covering the ground.

"Where are we?!" I wondered aloud as I charged the turret.

"The name of the region is 'Africa'!" Lena answered with a shrug. "Says in the description its civilians are very widespread, instead of being concentrated in cities!"

"The kind of place that would take a while for a Reaper to make its way through!" Urre yelled back. "And one they wouldn't need to hit immediately!"

_Smart, Henry._ I thought to myself, _Pick a battlefield with only ground troops, for now. Hang on, we're on our way._

The gunfire grew louder as we approached. I heard the weapons of the Reaper forces, but I heard a lot of opposing sniper rifle fire, with another clamor being the familiar chattering of Avenger assault rifles.

_Sounds like Henry's not alone._

"I can see their defenses ahead!" Lia shouted over the noise.

We started passing over homes and I realized we were headed into a small town. Bodies of both Reaper forces and humans lay in the streets, nearly blanketing them. I thanked the spirits that we'd come in at night, because I really didn't want to see the blood covering the streets. As it was, I could still make out dark splotches around the bodies at intervals. Homes had been torn in half or completely destroyed. Some were merely pillars of flame and smoke that reached out towards the sky.

Reaper troops were everywhere, positively infesting the city. Most of them were husks and cannibals, but I spotted a marauder or two hanging around. I picked off what I could safely pick off without tearing through a home. For all I knew, there could be people trying to hide in the houses that hadn't been found yet.

_Always know what's behind your enemy._ I recalled from my old training Sergeants when I was just a recruit.

I heard screams in the town and turned the turret to see a woman getting dragged out of her home in the distance, her two tiny children being dragged out after her. All of them looked absolutely terrified and the mother was kicking and struggling as hard as she could.

We had a mission to do. We had to keep going.

_If I do that,_ I growled to myself, _Then I'm no better than Saren, am I?_

"Lia!" I yelled. "Civilians on your right! Get us over there!"

"On my way!" She yelled. The world spun as she swung the Kodiak to the right and started towards the commotion. I pulled my assault rifle off my back, knowing that I'd need to make some precision shots, here. It'd be very difficult on a Kodiak, but I'd see what I could do.

As we neared, I sighted through the scope of the Harrier. This weapon had been custom-built from scratch by Henry and hadn't failed me yet.

_Six cannibals._ I rationalized quickly. _I'll take the two taking the children first, then take out the one holding the mother._

I took a moment to aim on the first one, which was holding a kicking and screaming girl. We were moving, but Lena was keeping it at a slow, steady speed that I could compensate for. The wind was going to have an effect at this range, but not enough to completely throw off the round's course. I just had to be very, very careful.

I had nowhere near the skill Henry and Ilna had with sniper rifles, but at shorter-range engagements like this, I could fire with extreme precision. I could've been a sniper, but I preferred to be able to dispose of more targets at a time with an assault rifle. Sniper rifles were for taking out the bigger, single enemies.

I squeezed the trigger lightly after my exhale. With a short bark, the Harrier released two rounds. Both of them tore through the cannibal's skull, dropping the thing to the ground. The child did possibly the worst thing he could do and ran for his mother. He surprised even me, however, when he jumped on the cannibal holding her and...started biting it?

The cannibal screeched in outrage and reached back to grab him, but the boy was too small for him to reach around for. I quickly switched targets to the other cannibal. This one was distracted, leveling his gun at the mother.

Everything happened at once. The girl managed to kick out from the cannibal, clearing her from the target. I pulled on the trigger, sending a trio of rounds towards the cannibal's chest. The cannibal fired at the mother.

As my rounds tore through the cannibal, the cannibal's rounds stitched a gruesome line up the mother's chest, dropping her to the ground. I felt an inferno of rage ignite in my body as she fell.

She may have been human, but she was still a mother trying her best to defend her children. Any species could understand and sympathize with that.

"Dammit!" I growled. The girls sat on the ground and started crying. "Get us down there, Lia'Vael!"

I heard Lena curse and get up next to me, pistol out.

The boy started screaming like a wild animal as he started pounding on the second cannibal's back. The cannibal grabbed him and started to pull him around, giving me just enough clearance as Lena started to bring the Kodiak down.

I fired a flurry of rounds into the second cannibal, causing it to jerk around on the spot as I filled it up with bullets. It dropped to the ground as we neared the dirt below. Lena moved to get out, but Urre pushed past her, camera attached to his shoulder in a rather tactical move as the combat reporter jumped off the transport and sprinted for the children.

I felt a swell of pride as the salarian rushed towards them, a non-combatant tearing headlong into enemy fire for a pair of children he'd never met and weren't even of his own species. I dropped the Harrier and immediately switched to the turret controls, desperate to put more rounds on the field as Lena unloaded.

I opened up on the three remaining cannibals, who were starting to fire up at us as husks and cannibals rounded the corner and started attacking Urre. I let out a frustrated growl as the big rounds tore the cannibals apart. As Urre picked up the wailing boy, who was kneeling down by his mother, I took out a pair of husks headed for his back. Another cannibal started leveling its gun at Urre and I trailed rounds up to it, putting the cannibal down as Urre seized the girl's hand.

Urre started running back to the Kodiak, a frenzied look in the salarian's eyes as he dragged the girl to the Kodiak and endured the boy's frantic attempts to get loose and get back to his mother.

I put rounds through a pair of cannibals as Urre neared the transport.

"Up here!" I yelled, holding an arm out. Urre handed the boy up and I looped an arm around the child's waist as he fought to get away. I pulled him into the transport as Urre set the girl down on the edge of the doorway. Lena grabbed her and pulled her the rest of the way in. He started to pull himself up and cried out when a pair of rounds skipped off his arm, tearing into the flesh there.

I turned back to the fight, struggling boy still in one arm. A cannibal was trying to kill us all before we made our way to the skies again. I fired at him, tearing the thing in half as Urre made it into the cabin. He pulled the door closed roughly and Lia'Vael took off without hesitation, speeding towards a compound in the distance.

I sighed and sat back, letting the boy down. He just looked up at me for a moment, all anger gone, then sat down and started crying. The little girl walked over and put her arms around the boy as she joined him in their despair.

I looked up at Urre, who was checking his arm over. The wounds seemed to be flesh wounds, but I felt I had to say something to him. I didn't know what to say, though, so I simply went with what I knew.

"Hey." I said, getting his attention. He looked up at me, his eyes still wide with adrenaline. "Make sure you get those wounds checked out by Doctor Aline, alright?"

"I will, Colonel." He answered with a smile. I gave him a nod and then got out of the turret, heading for the pasenger's seat. There were children aboard, now. I wasn't about to open the transport doors and expose them to enemy fire.

"Attention to whoever receives this message." I spoke into the comms system, "There are friendlies aboard this Kodiak. Please acknowledge."

At first, there was nothing, then a pair of mechanic clicks slid over the comms system. Lia looked up at me, confused.

I knew what this was. Back when I'd been in Blackwatch, I'd attended an inter-species War College. The humans had the best of the lessons, preferring to deal with their enemies with smaller numbers and greater cunning than the rest of the galaxy. We preferred brutally overwhelming numbers, ourselves. The humans had a technique for non-verbal communication over radios, typically used when they knew someone was listening in. It was designed to give simple answers without giving away any positions or anything useful.

_Smart._ I noted. I looked down at Lia'Vael.

"Two clicks is 'yes'." I told her. "One is 'no'."

"Ah, okay." She said, as we glided over the compound. I opened the door to the Kodiak and looked around, trying to get a handle on what the situation was below.

This was a very well-formed defense. The streets had been collapsed in three directions, with rubble strewn over that, to ensure only one way in or out. At the gate of this compounds stood what looked like a platoon and a half of armed men on the defenses. Reaper corpses were piled on the streets outside, their doctrine of throwing raw numbers at a problem proving their undoing. I saw the building at the middle of the compound. It was tall and I could see a sniper at nearly every window.

We landed on the roof and I jumped down off of the Kodiak. There was a small door leading to some stairs at the end of this roof. I helped the still-crying children off the transport as Lena jumped out next to me. Urre was right behind her and I ushered us forward, hearing what sounded like a battle renewed in the courtyard of the complex. The door was thrown open and an armed, dark-skinned human beckoned to us.

"C'mon!" He yelled, "Captain Gerrard wants to speak to you!"

_Looks like someone took note of Henry's achievements._ I thought to myself, bemused. I was willing to bet that he hated being an officer almost as much as he hated the Reapers.

"Captain, huh?" Lena asked as we walked in and the door was closed behind us.

"Yes, Ma'am." the human said, "He was promoted a couple of weeks ago. He...isn't pleased about it."

"I bet." Lena answered with a dry laugh. "What unit are you with?"

"We're not an officially recognized unit, ma'am." He answered immediately. "We're a civilian militia, but I'm of the trainers. Lieutenant Bandi's the name. Captain Gerrard was teaching an assault company while Ilna taught a sniper platoon when the Reapers attacked. We were farther up north, but we'd been here before and suggested it'd make a good spot. Corporal Flynt joined us a few hours later with a group of biotics he'd been training in Nairobi."

"You've done one hell of a job." I told him honestly. "I was on Palaven when the attack hit. Our own response was...underwhelming."

"As was ours." the human answered, leading us through another hallway with a door at the end. I heard the familiar sounds of loud cursing. "But we had Captain Gerrard. He's most of the reason we're all still alive. Cells have been organized by radio contact across the continent and we're working on a plan to start hitting the Reapers on every front on this continent."

"He's through there?" I asked, pointing at the door.

"Yes, sir." the human replied, rushing to the door and opening it up.

This was once clearly an office chairs, tables and had all been upended and shoved against the windows, which had been knocked out completely. Behind each barricade sat a sniper. I figured that was only half of them, though, as the other half seemed to be asleep on the floors or eating. There were no dead bodies here, but I saw plenty of blood. I assumed the dead bodies were being taken elsewhere. Supplies were being distributed by other snipers as rounds pinged off the ceiling and the barricades.

In the center of it all stood Henry, who had his right side to us. He was conferring quietly with another of the militia, who was perusing a datapad with readouts on it.

Henry had grown a little bigger since I'd last seen him, which I hadn't thought would be possible. Clearly, he and Eryc had been exercising together. Tired blue eyes were skimming through the datapad as he ran another hand through his short black hair. Dark pits had formed beneath his eyes, which I'd read was a clear sign of human exhaustion. The scarring on his temple seemed a little more hidden, but I could still see the tiny lines running through his hair. His ear was still missing a good-sized piece of it.

As always, he looked more like a mercenary than a military commander. His armor was based off the old Predator model, but was dark blue instead of green. He had a very large white shoulder pad on the right side, to better accommodate the recoil of the rifle. Below that, he'd taken off the armor on his upper arm and simply attached an elastic band that could hold five thermal clips. I couldn't help but notice that he only had one left on there. There was what I recognized as the STT logo printed in white on his left breast and the armor on his left thigh had been switched out for a white piece, as well.

_He looks about as rough as ever._

Farther in the room was Eryc, who was holding a strong-looking barrier in front of the snipers as they continually poured rounds down at the Reaper forces. I saw rounds skimming off of the barrier and impacting in the ceiling and floors. The big guy looked a little strained, but I understood. They'd been at this for two days. Even as big and in shape as he was, I had no doubt he ran out of energy just like everyone else.

Dark hair peeked out from over his tired face as his green eyes were screwed tightly closed in concentration. His armor was a little different from the armor being displayed around the room. He wore the Serrice Council Armor, meant specifically for biotics. It was very form fitting, which showed off exactly how impossibly big he was. I hadn't even been aware than humans got that big, but apparently he was a special case.

Ilna was visible in the left corner, on the shift that was currently sleeping. Her hands were curled around an M-98 Widow, which she leaned on as she snored quietly. Her blond hair cascaded nearly down to her elbows. I couldn't help but notice that she still wore that same suit of N-7 Armor that had the N-7 crossed out and "Mother of Two" stenciled over it. I'd laughed the first time I'd seen it. Even now, the simple joke brought a little bit of humor to the depressing sight around me.

"Yeah." Henry muttered to the other man as we approached. "We're going to have to start pulling out the wounded. Have the medical personnel hand out their thermal clips to runners from the assault team and have the down shift of the assault team wake up. Get the civilians out of here with the wounded and bring the children up here. I don't care what the parents want, they're coming with me. The ground forces seem to be withdrawing for the moment. If it's for the reason I think it is, we better start getting that bomb ready."

"Yes, Captain." the man replied, saluting. Henry returned his salute with a shaking hand.

_Has he slept in the last two days?_ I wondered.

"Henry." Lena said breathlessly. Henry's eyes widened and he turned to see us all here. I felt my mandibles spread upwards in a grin.

"Lena." Henry murmured, striding forward. Lena beat him there, throwing her arms around him. He held her to him tightly and I nearly sighed.

_Every damn time._

There were cheers and whistles from the surrounding militia, but neither of them cared. I heard Lia'Vael let out a small 'aww'. Lena let go and immediately started yelling at him.

"Why didn't you leave Earth, you big dumb bosh'tet?!" She demanded. Henry ignored her as the men around us laughed and he looked at me.

"I'm glad you made it off Palaven, Roluck." Henry said, walking forward and clasping forearms with me. The krogan/turian gesture threw me off, but I was pleased nonetheless.

"And I find myself unsurprised to discover you running an effective resistance." I noted.

"Yeah." Henry replied, "I've been organizing some cells out here. The best resistance is in North America, but we're not too shabby over here."

"Captain!" Eryc yelled, rushing over with a hand out. I shook it, smiling. Now wasn't really the time to correct him on my rank.

"Good to see you still kicking ass, Eryc."

"It's good to still be kicking ass." He replied.

"Lena!" Ilna exclaimed in delight as she got up and threw her arms around the quarian woman. "It's good to see you, woman."

"Urre?" Henry asked, surprised to see the salarian behind us. I was even more surprised that he was able to recall the reporter's name, in his state.

"I'm here to document everything, Captain." He said thinly. "I'm glad to see you're still alive."

"You take a hit?" Henry asked as he waved a vague hand at the direction of Urre's wounds.

"Flesh wounds." Urre replied.

"And who are they?" Henry asked quietly as the rest of the group reunited in excitement, looking past me. I turned to the two children.

"We rescued them on the way here." I told him, "Their mother was with them. She didn't make it."

Henry just nodded, understanding written into the tired lines of his face.

"It's a story we all know too well." Henry muttered. "We've got a dozen children under thirteen with us. Every other civilian is on the barricades. I figure we can pack the children on the shuttle, if that's not too much trouble."

"It'll be a tight fit." I admitted, "But children have no place here. What about the ones that are over thirteen?"

"They're on the barricades." Henry answered grimly. I tried to imagine that and found the mental image a little disturbing. Even for a turian, thirteen was way too early for military service.

"So what's the plan?" I asked.

"Well," Henry started, gesturing outside the windows, "We've held this city as long as we could and absorbed all the citizens we could. Far as I can tell, we're killing an average of fifteen or twenty for every person they take. It's still nowhere near enough. I think we have a Reaper headed our way, so I'm going to have Lieutenant Bandi take over as we bug out."

"Evacuate?" I wondered, "Last I checked, there was only one way in or out."

"No." Henry said, shaking his head. "Drug runners and armament dealers built tunnels that run underneath this structure and into neighboring villages. Over a century old, but they should hold up. I've been checking around over the radio and a few of the villages are clear for the moment, so I'm having them all consolidate. Lieutenant Bandi will run everyone out of here and to one of those villages. From there, they'll head out to a more remote spot and continue the resistance."

"Okay." I said, nodding.

"Sir!" Lieutenant Bandi shouted as he came in through another door, "The parents want to see their children one last time."

We all heard the sound, then. That deep bass trumpeting announcing the arrival of a Reaper. It was distant, but I looked out the window and could see it slowly closing in about ten miles away, hovering above the ground but making a cautious approach. The hellish form was the signal of the end of this battle.

"No time." Henry replied. "Get them the hell out of here! Snipers! Get moving to the tunnels! Is the bomb ready?"

"It is," Lieutenant Bandi said, "But...some of our men have injuries preventing them from moving. What should be done with them?"

Henry sighed miserably and I already knew the choice he was going to make before he even opened his mouth.

"We have to leave them." Henry answered finally as the sniper platoon streamed towards the door to our right. "It's...not right, but we can't all die to save them."

"I understand, Captain." Lieutenant Bandi said, sounding thoroughly dejected. "Good luck with your campaign up there."

"You need more luck than I." Henry said, "But I'll be coming back. I don't know when, but I want to see you and these men alive when I do, understood?"

"Yes, sir." Lieutenant Bandi replied as a group of children were herded into the room. Lieutenant Bandi snapped off a brisk salute, which Henry returned just as sharply.

The Lieutenant sprinted away, passing the children as he went.

"Alright," Henry said, "Let's get out of here fast."

The children cried and they whined and they begged us to leave them with their parents. We ignored their pleas, picking them up and forcing them to come with us.

I had a child under each arm as I emerged onto the roof, to see the Reaper coming closer. It was about the same size as the one that attacked us on Palaven and no less terrifying for it. The children started wailing as it approached. It couldn't be more than a mile out.

"Go!" I yelled unnecessarily. Henry and Flynt were already in the transport, with Ilna and Lena getting in behind them. I motioned for Urre to go ahead and he jumped up on the transport, letting the children down and blocking them from escaping as I stepped into the transport. With my free arm, I awkwardly slammed the door shut.

Lia'Vael was already in the pilot's seat, with Henry in the passenger's seat. She took off and I watched from between them as we raced off towards the slowly rising sun. She shot us into the air, to keep us from getting hit by enemy fire. After about thirty seconds, Henry put his hand on Lia's shoulder. She looked up at him as he stared ahead.

"Flip this thing around and hover." Henry ordered quietly. Lia'Vael watched him for a moment, then nodded. She turned the transport around and I saw a terrible sight.

As had kind of been expected, the Reapers had overrun the compound right after the forces had retreated. I thought about all the wounded there, those that would be sitting in a room, with no help from anyone and some too wounded to even lift an arm. This was a terrible end for them. I saw the Reaper approaching the corporate office as it sliced through entire floors of the building with its impossibly powerful crimson lasers.

"C'mon, you big son of a bitch." I heard Henry mutter, "Get the fuck over there, already."

Henry had the most torn look on his face that I'd ever seen. I knew that he wanted to go right back there and kill everything in that building. As I watched him play with a small metallic device in one fist, I knew he was torn apart at the idea of what he was about to do.

The Reaper got even closer and Henry apparently decided it was close enough. He hit a small button on the device and a plume of fire and debris suddenly engulfed the entire compound, including the Reaper. As the flames and debris died down, I noticed the Reaper moving sluggishly, clearly damaged (though nowhere near destroyed). Most of the forces in the compound had been wiped out completely.

I looked down at Henry as Lena turned the shuttle back around and started towards the Vengeance. The children had stopped crying aloud, though there was still sniffling and tears. Henry had slumped in his chair, looking completely miserable.

"Sixteen men and women." He muttered. "Sixteen. I killed them...goddammit."

Nobody knew what to say, but Lena reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder, letting him know that she was there. She looked at me and I could tell she was thinking the same thing as I was.

_He's going to find out about his father, soon._ I thought to myself.

"Sixteen." Henry repeated. "God dammit."

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_


	61. Chapter 61

When we got to the ship, I immediately sent Urre and the children to Doctor Aline. I didn't want them to run wild around the ship and they needed to be checked immediately for any injuries before we just offloaded them on the Citadel. I still had no idea what we'd do with them.

Then I'd sent Henry to the QEC, with specific orders to contact Admiral Hackett. I had refused to tell him why (And he'd asked), telling him only that it wasn't my place to tell him why. Ilna and Eryc were down in the crew quarters, getting some rest.

Then I went up to the cockpit to find Allison on the floor, crying. Lena was kneeling next to her, comforting the Alliance pilot. The asari crewmembers were nowhere to be seen.

"What the hell?" I wondered aloud.

"Not...right..." Allison cried out between sobs.

I looked up to find a dead Alliance technician who vaguely resembled Allison pressed up against the shield of the cockpit. The face was twisted in a silent scream and her eyes bulged out of her sockets. I felt myself the slightest bit repulsed by the sight. It was grotesque, but it probably hadn't rattled Allison that much. At first.

But I'd seen a Reaper when we'd come in. It was lurking around the field, clearly patrolling the area to ensure nothing was sneaking in (Like we were). Allison had been forced to sit in that chair and stare at that woman for a half hour. That'd make anybody go insane.

_Well, that's gruesome._

I quietly eased into the controls. I wasn't Allison, but I still had a vague idea of how to fly the ship. I slowly pushed us out of the debris and headed towards a clear spot to jump at. Thankfully, the body slid off of the shield. From what I could tell, the Reaper that was patrolling was off in the distance, nowhere near close enough to get to us.

"Jump us out, Anna." I ordered, not knowing how to do it myself.

"Yes, Colonel." She replied. There was a small jerk as the ship started the jump, that blue field surrounding the ship as we started to move through space. I looked down at Allison.

"I'm sorry, Boss." She whispered, staring at the floor.

I felt a small twinge of sorrow for her. She felt like she'd failed the team, which she certainly hadn't. My mind traveled back to the invasion of the Vengeance during the battle with Vanguard. Allison had stood with me here, in the cockpit, killing cannibals and husks with her shotgun. She'd even been wounded by the same banshee that I had, if memory served (It did).

"Don't worry about it." I told her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "That would've happened to anyone."

I hit one more control, to close the metal shields over the reinforced glass, obscuring the space from view.

"Thanks, Boss." She muttered. She managed to drag herself back into the seat. "I'll be okay."

"Get us to the Citadel, Allison." I told her. "As soon as possible."

"You got it." She answered, sounding a little stronger, now. I left, Lena behind me.

"Earth was rough." Lena muttered. I had to agree with her. "Keelah, I'd only heard about Palaven, but seeing Earth...makes you wonder how we can possibly fight this."

"Colonel." Anna started from around me, "Lieutenant Gerrard is heading for the Lounge, now. In case you want to speak to him."

I looked at Lena and gave her a significant look.

"You up for this?" I asked her.

"Yeah." She answered with a nod. I gave the quarian a smile, hoping she knew enough about turian expressions to recognize it. I could never tell if she recognized anything, with her.

_She likes it that way._ I reminded myself. _While she'd never said it out loud, everyone knew she loved playing the part of the hard-to-read woman._

We got into the elevator and waited for the short ride to the crew deck. I felt a small amount of anxiety, knowing that Henry was probably in one hell of a wrecked state.

_Wait a moment._

I hit another button on the elevator, sending us down to the shuttle bay.

"What are you doing?" Lena asked.

"Just picking something up." I told her, hoping Henry still had it.

When the door opened, I had Lena hold the door while I checked the cabinets of the weapons bench. I cried out in triumph when I found the completely untouched bottle of scotch I'd gotten him. Three years ago. It was my understanding that humans preferred to let their liquor age, like a few other species. The bottle barely looked like it'd been utilized, probably only opened for special occasions.

I rushed back to the elevator and Lena looked at the bottle, her mask hiding all expression from view.

"Probably a good call." She admitted with a bob of her helmet.

The door opened to the Crew Deck and we immediately took a left, nearing the door of the lounge. I didn't know what I would say, hoping that Lena would do most of the talking. The door opened and I immediately saw Henry, front and center of the lounge.

He wasn't crying, thankfully. He just had his head in his hands and was staring at the floor, unmoving and quiet. He didn't even look up when we walked in. Lena sat down next to him and I grabbed a glass from the bar.`I filled it about half way. I didn't mind if Henry got a little drunk, I planned for him to sit out the trip to the Citadel, along with Eryc and Ilna. They all needed some rest.

As Lena wrapped an arm around his shoulder, I grabbed one of his wrists and pried his hand from his face. I slid the drink into his hand and he clutched at it, still staring at the floor. He took a sip and slowly leaned back in his seat, finally turning to look at Lena. She didn't say anything, obviously not knowing what to say. He sighed and looked into his glass.

"He was in the Navy for thirty-five years." Henry muttered. "Thirty-five. First Contact War, the war against the batarians, the fight against Sovereign...Taken out in the first attack."

He took a sip of the scotch, shaking all over. I noticed his hand gripping the glass so hard that his knuckles were turning white. I stayed silent, deciding to let him do the talking.

"First my sister..." He muttered, looking up at me. I saw tears starting to form in his eyes. "My father...shit, I just killed..."

He didn't continue, looking back down at his drink as the tears started to fall. He started sobbing, unable to continue with his train of thoughts as he drained the rest of the glass. I looked at Lena, who wasn't paying attention to me.

"Henry." I told him, "Get some rest. I'm headed to the Citadel to pick up a few of the old crew and I'm not taking anyone from Earth. You've got a good six to eight hours. Lena will stay with you."

"Thanks." he said quietly, before standing up, trying to stop the crying. I didn't begrudge him the tears, nor the hollow tone in his voice.

Back in the 43rd Marines, when my entire platoon had been wiped out by Rachni, I'd gone to the door of every parent of every man and woman in the platoon. I had told them the fate of their sons and daughters, along with a few personal words about each and every one. I'd seen the entire spectrum of reactions and I'd learned that week that there was no weakness in mourning.

I'd also learned that while I could be a genius on the battlefield pretty often, I knew very little about how to comfort others through a loss.

He left the cabin, with Lena's arm still around his shoulders. They both passed a confused-looking Urre, who had thankfully waited outside the door.

_Anna must've told him that we needed privacy._

I sighed as I looked out of the window at the surrounding space. I needed a moment to collect myself. Never before, when I'd been the unfortunate sole survivor of my platoon, had I dreamed that I would come this far.

_Colonel Vether._ I mused.

Who would've thought that it would be such a miserable appointment?

_Colonel Vether is a turian who picks up and dusts off some of the most broken and dangerous men and women in the galaxy and sends them right back into a war for the very survival of an intolerant and worthless galaxy._

The blue field streamed by and I momentarily lost myself in it as my mind went in a million different directions. I managed to pull myself together and look at Urre.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"What was that about?" He wondered.

"Henry's father was in the Alliance Second Fleet." I answered. "Admiral Hackett just broke the news to him."

"I...see." Urre answered. "I hope it's not too callous to ask for an interview?"

My eyes traveled up to the bandage on his right arm.

"It's not." I told him. "How's the wound?"

"I've had worse, Colonel." Urre answered immediately, "It was just a flesh wound, as suspected."

"So how do we do this?" I wondered.

"We should probably do the interview in your office." Urre answered, smiling. "We don't want the viewers to think you're slacking off in the lounge."

"Fair enough." I muttered. I stood, stretching out the tight tendons and muscles. This was likely the only chance I was going to get to stretch out and take a bit of rest. I really wanted to sleep, but I was pretty sure that 'saving the galaxy' came first.

"Maybe after we deal with the Reapers." I muttered to myself as we took a left turn and headed for my office.

"What's that, Colonel?" Urre asked.

"Nothing, nothing." I told him as we entered my office. I took a seat and scratched at an itching spot on my neck before resting my hands in front of me professionally.

"Good." Urre said, "I'll warn you ahead of time, some of these questions might border on personal, but they've all been sent to me by my viewers. If you feel uncomfortable answering any of them, let me know and we'll just move on. Let me just..."

He typed into his omni-tool and a camera moved into the room and hovered over his shoulder, this one a lot bigger than the camera he used on the battlefield. As I understood, these cameras pretty much touched up everything as it was recorded, resulting in a much cleaner-looking video when it was sent out. It was typically used by normal reporters and interviewers, though it was impossible (and tactically dangerous) to bring to a battlefield. I raised my estimation for Urre in the slightest for not attempting to bring the big, bulky eyesore to battle.

"Colonel," Urre asked, his voice strong and direct, "You've been recently promoted, how do you feel about that appointment?"

"Honored." I told the salarian, playing up the part for the audience I would have. "Though not so much about the circumstances surrounding my promotion. A turian should never have to be promoted over the dead bodies of other officers."

"A question from one of my viewers on Ilos: Colonel, we hear so much about STT Zeta but don't know much about the men themselves. What's your story?"

"Well," I said, leaning back, "I was in the 43rd Marine Division for ten years, until my entire platoon was wiped out by an isolated pocket of rachni we'd found. From there, I transferred to Blackwatch. Then, after a year or two of that, I moved on to STT Zeta."

"A question from Thessia:" Urre continued, "How do you feel about working with so many species? Do you get along with all of them?"

"You know," I said, unfolding my hands and laying the flat of them on the desk, "There was a time in recent history when my people were at war with the humans. Yet one of my best friends on this frigate is human. Captain Gerrard. I found him slumped up against a Mako and vomiting his guts out on Eden Prime, after wiping out a platoon of geth with just him and two others."

"A platoon? On Eden Prime?" Urre wondered aloud. Clearly, he hadn't heard of that.

"Yes." I replied. "He's one of the most competent snipers I've ever met and one hell of a tactician, when he needs to be. Hell, he could give that loudmouth Vakarian a run for his money"

I knew, somewhere out there, that Garrus would see this. I smiled, knowing he'd have some sort of entertaining response for it. I let the smile drop, getting serious in front of the camera again.

"We've got a few species on board that most people would refuse to work with." I said. "We've got a krogan who could and would probably fistfight a Thresher Maw. We have a quarian Admiral who took down a platoon of her Marines by herself during her test and we have a batarian who knows more about explosives than I do about tactical operations. They've all earned their way onto this team."

"Do you believe they can be trusted?" Urre asked. I shot him a severe look and he raised his hands in surrender. "This comes from our viewers."

"Very well." I grunted, looking back at the camera. "I don't only believe they can be trusted, I know they can. They are all on this ship and fighting towards the common goal of saving this galaxy. That's more than a lot can say."

"How frustrated were you with the Council before they accepted your claims?" Urre asked, his voice carrying the slightest note of guilt. He'd been one of the people who'd doubted our claims, before Eden Prime.

"Very." I answered. I was about to leave it at that, but...

_The people need to know that everybody's reading from the same book and in control._ I bemoaned,_ I can't show the galaxy the division between the politicians and the military._

"But I can understand their concerns." I told Urre, standing up and slowly pacing around. I was thoroughly agitated that I had to defend the Council, who I'd never thought I'd hear myself defending. Those bastards had left us to rot and we'd all payed the price for it. As had Asteria and Eden Prime. As well as the Fifth Fleet. Now, the galaxy was paying for it. "They were presented with admittedly ludicrous information that included very little detail or additional information. Now, though, they're all doing their absolute best to protect and defend the citizens of the galaxy. Whatever your feelings towards the Council, they know the score and they're doing their part."

_Unless they're asari._

"Speaking of 'doing their part'," Urre starts, "I got one from the salarian STG. Colonel Vether, we've been paying close attention to your team and Shepard's. Without going in-depth, exactly how much do you have at your disposal at the moment?"

"Well," I said, seating myself again, "As you said, I can't give numbers. The Quarian Marines are all present and ready to go, as are the Salarian Army and the Salarian Second Fleet. Dalatrass Eira is a friend of Zeta's and has stepped up far better than her predecessor did. We're still working on building fleets and armies at what we have around, but we'll see what happens. We're still just trying to get the team together, at the moment."

"Now, this one comes from Tuchunka, believe it or not." Urre said. "Colonel Vether, you are known around Clan Urdnot for being willing to approve a mission to Tuchunka to save a teammate's daughter. How do you view the Genophage conflict?"

"Was it actually asked like that?" I asked Urre in amusement.

"No." Urre admitted, "I softened it up a bit, but the question's still in there."

I nodded my head and looked at the camera.

My view on the Genophage had changed with time. I'd seen plenty of brutal krogan who would slaughter entire families for a target or would willingly kill a child on contract, if there were enough credits to be made on it. Then again, I'd seen the same of the humans, the asari and the turians. After serving with Krieg, I saw an opportunity for the krogan to evolve into a better species, one geared towards helping to protect the galaxy, rather than trying to dominate it.

"As I understand it, the Genophage is on its way to being cured." I started, choosing my words very carefully, "I personally believe that a Genophage cure should be on the table, but two paths lay before the krogan. When they are cured, they can continue this cycle of destruction and this time, there may be no coming back for them. However, I've met with a good amount of krogan who would rather see their species thrive and again turn into the amazing society and culture they used to be, before the salarians got involved. That is the path I hope they choose."

"From a human on the Citadel." Urre continued. "Do you think the Citadel's safe?"

I drew in a breath, not exactly happy with that question. I knew it wasn't, but I wasn't too sure that people needed to hear it.

"Nowhere will be safe, soon enough." I said, deciding to go for it. "The Citadel lulls people into a false sense of complacency and security. Honestly, the Reapers hit that place first, three years ago. If they get it, they might very well find a way to end this war the same way they've ended all the others: systems cut off from each other, being exterminated slowly. Trust in C-Sec and keep an eye out, but don't give into fear."

"We're almost done here, Colonel." Urre said, "This one comes out of the Citadel. Colonel, what's your kill count? Follow up question: Did your crew help you or did you kill them yourself?"

I narrowed my eyes at the reporter.

_That son of a bitch._

"Exactly who asked that question?" I asked Urre.

"I'm not at liberty to say, Colonel." Urre answered.

"Fair enough." I replied, looking back at the camera. I didn't really need Urre to answer. Besides, I wasn't so much angry as amused. "Well, Vakarian, I'd estimate my personal kills well past seven hundred and unlike some of us, I do it within arm's reach of the enemy. You know, instead of tucked safely back behind the rest of those with shotguns and assault rifles."

Urre laughed, but continued anyways.

"Another personal question, from an asari commando on Thessia." Urre said. "Most soldiers have something they fight for, whether it be family, love of country, money or honor. Exactly what are you, Colonel Roluck, fighting for?"

I was surprised by the question, though not as surprised by the realization that I didn't have an answer.

_What am I fighting for?_ I wondered. I filed the question away for later consideration. _Right now, I needed to answer the question at hand with whatever people want to hear._

"Palaven." I told him. "My home. I will not see it fall. My brother, the last of my family, died next to me ensuring I made it off world to save Palaven and I can promise you I will do all I can to see that through."

It was a simple answer, but it was all I had. Urre seemed satisfied, though.

"Last question, Colonel." Urre said, "How do you think this war will go?"

I sat back in my chair, thinking this question over. Every single word of what I said had to be right, lest I cause fear or panic.

"The Reapers have done this before." I finally said, "Many, many times before. Every fifty thousand years, in fact. I cannot possibly emphasize enough what a threat they are. Our homeworlds are being annihilated as I speak and countless people are dying. We have an advantage, though. Never before have the Reapers fought a galaxy that could still move around and coordinate. We still have the Mass Relays and the Citadel. And we are making damn sure that when the time to truly fight comes, the Reapers will be facing the strongest and most united galaxy they've ever faced. We will win this, or at least, give the Reapers something to remember."

Urre nodded, then looked at the camera himself.

"I'm Urre Imun and this is my interview with Colonel Vether, Commanding Officer of STT Zeta. My footage of our time on Earth will soon be following. Stay tuned to stay up to date on our efforts."

He turned off the camera and looked back at me.

"That was good, Colonel." He assured me. "Very professional, very informative and very reassuring. The people won't even be able to tell that you were being only half-true with some of the answers."

"You have a problem with that?" I asked.

"Not at all." He answered reassuringly, his wide eyes looking concerned, "Mostly it was with personal questions and I understand the need for reassurance on the big questions."

"Is that all you needed me for?" I asked.

"Not all." He admitted, "Wanted to get your input on the footage from Earth."

For the next half hour, while I desperately tried to hurry it up so I could go to sleep, we worked together to keep the footage clear of anything that I wouldn't want the Reapers to see. I knew that they had indoctrinated out there and if they had any sense, they'd be checking the news often, especially anything about us or Shepard.

When we were finished, he stood and made to leave before I called him back.

"Yes, Colonel?" He asked.

"You did a good job with those kids." I told him. "That was a lot more than I expected from a combat reporter."

"Just because I can't shoot worth a damn doesn't mean I can't help." He replied with a nod back to me. "But I appreciate it, Colonel."

"Just call me 'Roluck', from now on." I told him, "Most everyone around here does, on a one-on-one basis."

"You got it, Roluck." He replied, slipping out of the door and down the hallway. I sighed and realized we still had a few hours until we hit the Citadel. We'd intentionally taken the long route.

"Anna?" I asked aloud.

"Am I needed for anything?"

"Negative, Colonel." She replied.

"Well," I told her, "I'm going to try to get some rest. Tell Allison if anything happens, I can be reached in my room."

"Affirmative, Colonel."

I started down the hallway, when I overheard my name in conversation. I stopped and glanced over, to see Risha'Zun and Staff Sergeant Valin sitting at the mess table, passing the time with a meal and idle talk. I knew the two were romantically involved, which I didn't exactly discourage on this ship.

"-he goes on." Risha'Zun said.

"What do you mean?" Valin replied as a slunk behind one of the barriers that lined a hallway leading to an elevator.

"Well," Risha'Zun said, "I fight for a future for my people, possibly for a future with you. You look at every man and woman on this ship, they have something they're working towards or fighting for. The Colonel really doesn't. It makes me wonder how he keeps fighting."

"Dedication." Valin answered with a shrug. "Besides, it's not like everyone on this ship is spoken for. What about our pilot, for example?"

"Oh," Risha'Zun said, her tone making it clear that she was happy to spread some juicy gossip, "you didn't hear about her and Eryc, when we had time off before the fight with Van-"

I decided that I'd heard enough and continued walking to the elevator.

I still remembered that day on the Citadel, the one where I'd gotten very drunk and had threatened C-Sec officers until Henry had come by and knocked me clear out. I still felt bad for interrupting what I heard had been a very special date for them.

_What do you fight for?_ A small voice wondered.

I ignored it as best as I could as the elevator opened to the crew quarters. I was surprised to see Lena standing in front of me. I'd expected her to be in with Henry.

"Lena?" I asked, stepping out of the elevator.

"He needs to be alone." Lena assured me. "He's not doing great at the moment, but I think he'll be fine with enough time."

"It's terrible what happened." I muttered. "Watches his homeworld burn and gets up into space to hear that his father died...did he mention anything about his mother?"

"He said she's on her way to the Citadel." she confirmed. "She's already gotten the news and she's devastated."

There was silence between us.

"I hate this war." Lena muttered bitterly.

"We'll make it through, Lena." I promised her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I need to get some sleep. With me and Henry down, I'm temporarily putting you in charge."

"I'll make sure things are running fine." She assured me. "Just get some rest."

"I plan on it." I answered, continuing down the hall.

I was in my bed in moments, but I didn't sleep for at least thirty minutes, my mind wrapped around one singular question until exhaustion finally overtook me.

_What do you fight for?_

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_


	62. Chapter 62

I woke to Lena's voice and nearly sighed with relief.

The entirety of my 'sleep' had been filled with nightmares and dreams of death. I couldn't remember any of them, even at this present moment, but I knew that they had terrified.

"Roluck." she said quietly, having the courtesy to wake me up gently. I looked up and saw her standing at my doorway, "We're at the Citadel."

"Good." I muttered. "Anybody going?"

"Henry already left." Lena answered as I groggily moved to a seated position, planting my feet on the floor. "He's just going to talk to his mother on the Presidium and check in with Councilor Udina, then he's coming back. Urre and Doctor Aline left, as well. Doctor aline is bringing the children to the refugee camp to see where they'll fit and Urre is visiting GNN Headquarters. "

"Understood." I muttered, standing up.

"I'll come with you." She said. I just nodded, thankful that I wouldn't have to just wander through the Citadel alone. "I know Allison wants to join us, too."

"Let me just check something." I told her, inviting her to stay where she was. I had a new message from an Admiral Torren. I found myself staring at a message concerning the transfer of command from the Salarian Union to myself, along with his assurances that he'd been briefed and was ready to deploy when we needed him.

_Thank the Spirits._ I thought to myself, _I won't have to coordinate a fleet myself._

I reminded myself to get the salarian a bottle of something on the Citadel for when I saw him.

There was a second message on there from Councilor Sparatus, telling me to come visit him when I got the chance. I mentally added another item on my list of things to do today.

"Let's go." I told Lena, stretching out and loosening up my muscles before walking out of the door. She followed along behind me. "We've got Errahe, Enua and Nesk waiting. At least, so far. which do you think we should pick up first?"

"Enua." Lena answered without hesitation. We entered the elevator and I pressed a button to get us to the bridge.

"Enua it is." I agreed. We waited for the door to open, to find Allison leaned up against the railing of the galaxy map. Her arms were crossed and she was smiling as she talked to the hulking Eryc.

"Sir." Eryc muttered, giving me a nod.

"Shouldn't you be getting some sleep?" I asked.

Eryc shuffled around, looking a little uncomfortable. I couldn't help but notice the dark lines under his eyes that indicated a severe lack of sleep. His eyes were fixed to the floor as he started talking.

"I've done a lot of bad things in my life, sir." Eryc replied, "But seeing Earth, seeing that devastation...I could only sleep about a couple hours before the nightmares woke me up."

"Understandable." I told him, "I'm not exactly sleeping too well, either."

"None of us are." Allison grumbled. "Anyways, I thought I'd come with you, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." I told her. "Corporal?"

"I'm going to try to get a little more sleep." He grunted. "I want to be ready for whatever our next move is."

"Probably the batarians." I muttered. I saw his lip curl in what I knew was the human expression of disgust.

On many different occasions, Eryc had displayed outright contempt for batarians, though he tolerated Barin for the sole reason of unit cohesion. I could understand why. He and his sister had been batarian slaves, at one point. I still remember how gleeful Eryc had looked when we'd gotten the opportunity to rescue his sister from batarians five months back.

_I'm going to have to have a talk with him, if things get out of hand._ I reminded myself. While I tolerated the man's personal grudge towards another race, it would become unacceptable if it interfered with the mission.

Still, I gestured to Allison, who fell in line behind me as Eryc strode off towards the elevator, shoulders slumped in exhaustion.

"I can't believe we found them all alive." Allison muttered as I punched in the code to open the airlock. "Especially considering how bad Earth was."

"Yeah." I agreed as the door opened. "We got lucky. Hopefully, it continues."

I typed on my omni-tool as we started walking towards the elevator. I sent a message to Enua, telling her we were on our way to Chora's Den and would meet her there.

"So how's Henry?" Allison asked as the doors closed.

"He's...he's accepted it, I think." Lena said. "It's a process and he's handling it just like you'd expect anyone to. He'll continue on, though. That's what's important."

I thanked the Spirits privately as the two continued to talk about Henry. I had been afraid that his father's death would've sent him out of the team.

He was a very valuable asset. His abilities were close to mine (thus the reason he was an XO). He wasn't bad in negotiating, though he tended to be a lot more forceful than Lena or I. He also could make a sniper rifle get up and dance for him.

_More importantly, he's a very good friend._

I didn't have enough of those to go around. Especially on a mission like this, where I was more than certain we were all going to need a supporting hand on occasion.

"So is Enua bringing Gin?" Lena wondered.

"I think so." I answered, trying to remember Enua's exact message. "She mentioned something about him joining her on the Citadel or something to that effect."

"Gin cares for Enua, poor guy." Allison gossiped behind me.

"I _really_ don't care." I muttered, but my voice went unheard as the door opened and we all walked out onto the Wards.

I'd always hated this part of the Citadel. While the topside was so peaceful that everyone was convinced they were utterly safe from anything in the galaxy, the Wards were a less-seedy version of Omega and acted like it.

Dark red lighting washed over us as we headed up to Chora's Den. I remembered my last time here, when I'd almost assaulted two C-Sec officers. I winced a little at the memory, still ashamed of the state Henry and Lena had found me in.

We stepped inside the circular club. There was a large circular bar in the middle of the dark club, with a second tier overtop it that had a pair of strippers and a pole behind a sheet of dirty glass. Along the walls were smaller booths and tables. some of the tables were tucked into corners and had asari stripping on top of them. Others were clear and simply meant for drinking.

The clientele here was a little shady, but everybody around here was a small time thug or gangster. The kind of people who'd know better than to start a fight with people as heavily armed as we were.

I noticed the club had a more desperate tone to it than before. People here seemed to be downing drinks quicker, with more of them on the tables. The strippers seemed more despondent than usual, as if they had more weighing on their minds.

It was the desperation bred from the realization that they could all die tomorrow.

Enua sat at a far table, looking very intimidating in the dull red lighting. She was wearing her blue, rather form-fitting heavy blue armor. She was tall and built pretty athletically for an asari. Her eyes were a blue that reminded me of ice or crystal, with just the same amount of warmth. Her blue skin seemed almost purple in the lighting.

She was talking to Gin, who was gesturing with his hands as he told a story. I saw her throw her head back and laugh. When her eyes opened, they spotted me.

"Roluck!" She yelled, waving.

I felt my mandibles lift in a smile and I started to walk over to her.

And everything went wrong.

I heard the whine of a weapon being charged next to me and instinctively pivoted towards the sound. I heard a gasp from Allison and an angry yell from Lena. As the sounds of a scuffle reached me from behind, I found myself looking into the eyes of a turian, who was bringing his pistol up. I heard Enua bellow in defiance and open fire on something with her Vindicator.

Screams echoed across the place. Chora's Den wasn't exactly a stranger to gunfire, but this was clearly a semi-professional ambush.

I grabbed the turian's arm, forcing his weapon down and to the side. There was no time to draw my weapon, so I simply rocked my head forward and slammed my forehead into his face. The relatively brittle bones and mandibles of his face broke under the impact, but he didn't seem phased as he kicked out and tripped me, sending us both to the ground.

I heard Lena's Crusader open up at the same time as I heard Allison's Katana join the fight.

"Gin!" I heard Enua cry out as SMG fire suddenly made itself known.

I drew my pistol, the Paladin. One of the most powerful pistols the galaxy had. The turian grabbed my arm, but I was able to overpower him. Ever so slowly, as the gunfire started to die down, I forced the pistol's barrel into the turian's mouth and fired a trio of shots, sending blue and grey matter all over the floor at the back of his head. I stood up and looked around.

Lena and Allison were unharmed, but had their weapons out. A trio of humans lay dead at their feet. Across the way, I saw Enua desperately trying to patch up a very bloody Gin. Two dead bodies lay around the two of them, both armed with SMGs.

"C'mon, Gin!" Enua yelled, giving the volus' face a sharp slap as we raced over. I took a knee next to him to see Gin looking around sluggishly. From the looks of it, a trio of rounds had been drilled into him. I didn't claim to know a lot about volus, but between the loss of blood and the suit tears, I doubted he'd survive for another minute. "You're not supposed to die for me, Gin!"

"No..." Allison whispered as Enua siezed Gin's hand in her own and used her other hand to support the back of the volus' head.

"Gin!" Enua yelled again, in his face, trying to keep him from passing out.

"E-Enua..." He started in his mechanical voice, "I-"

He didn't finish whatever he was going to say, going completely limp in the asari Spectre's arms.

"Dammit." Enua whispered, her head hanging low. "He didn't even get to say what he wanted to say."

"I think he was going to say 'I love you." Lena answered quietly as red blood started to pool out from around the volus' body.

Enua didn't have an answer for that, getting to her feet and staring down at Gin's body.

I felt horrible for the little volus. Judging from the looks of it, he'd stepped directly into oncoming fire to shield Enua. He'd never had a chance, as the bullets had blown his suit open and torn right through him.

_Damn. The little guy had always been a useful part of the crew._ Though I hadn't interacted with him much, I knew Lena had. Looking down at him, now, I wished that I'd gotten to know him better.

"What the hell is going on in here?!" Demanded a batarian voice. We all turned to find a batarian in what looked like C-Sec armor, a pistol in his hand and drawn on us. He looked extremely familiar.

"Herun?" I asked, surprised.

"Dammit, Gin." I heard Enua moan quietly behind me, "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Colonel Vether?" Barin's brother asked, just as surprised. He slowly lowered his weapon. "Why are you opening fire on civilians in a goddamn club?"

"They opened fire on us." Allison explained. "I think they were indoctrinated."

"Dammit." Herun groaned, the batarian rubbing at his eyes with a hand, "That's the fifth indoctrination case this week."

He sighed aloud, then said, "Shit, you guys better get out of here. I'm sure you have more important things to be doing and don't need to be standing around getting interviewed all day."

"Thank you, Herun." I said, relieved. The last thing I felt like doing right now was giving my story to a dozen different C-Sec agents.

"Herun." Enua directed. "The volus over there, Gin, has helped us save a lot of lives. I'd like his body to be treated well and I want to be notified about his funeral arrangements. I know he has a daughter."

"We'll take care of it." Herun assured her.

"Then I'll see you on the ship, guys." Enua told me, her ice-colored gaze on mine.

"Good." I replied. Then added, to cheer her up, "I know Doctor Aline can't wait to see you."

"Not the fucking time for it, Roluck." She snapped, walking past me.

_I can never seem to have the right response in these cases._ I grumbled inwardly. I was pretty sure I'd unintentionally antagonized Enua, though I was just trying to help.

I sighed and gave one last look to Gin's body before gesturing to my team.

"C'mon." I grumbled, "Let's go see Nesk."

It was convenient that everything else I needed to do was in the Embassies.

Though I might drop by the Presidium, to see how Henry's mother is doing.

"I..." Lena started, sounding a little choked up as we headed back towards the elevators. "Never mind."

"You alright, Lena?" I asked as we waited in front of the elevator.

"It just...I wasn't prepared for it, that's all." She finally answered, sounding a little choked up as the doors opened. I stepped inside and squeezed to the side to give the other two room. They slid in and we hit the button for the embassies.

"You looked pretty prepared, to me." I said. "You took 'em out like they were a couple of untrained salarians."

"Not that." Lena answered.

I watched the wards slide by as Lena seemed to try to figure out how to voice her thoughts. It looked like there was just rushes of colors in front of the elevator as we moved. I idly wondered if the sight made anyone sick.

"I wasn't prepared to watch a team member go down like that." Lena finally said. "It's such a cruel way to go, being ambushed like that."

It certainly was. Gin had been a combat engineer, so I knew he would've preferred to die against an enemy with his head held high, not cut down by indoctrinated civilians in a shitty club.

"At least he died protecting the woman he cared for." I answered quietly.

_And who do you care for?_ That same little voice that had been bugging me asked.

I ignored it as the elevator door opened and I was greeted to the sight of diplomats standing around everywhere and chatting amongst each other like there was absolutely nothing more pressing they could be working on.

_Politicians._ I thought to myself as I stepped out of the elevator,_ Easily my least favorite people._

The embassies were packed with more than just diplomats, though. There were a good number of troops in here, attempting to get people moved around or appealing for funds from their respective diplomats. I ignored them and headed for the salarian Councilor's office. When I walked in, I was surprised to find not only Errahe, but Nesk.

First Sergeant Errahe Trenel was a longtime member of STT Zeta. He had been part of the Special Tasks Group before he'd joined the STT. His skin was a kind of bland blue color that I rarely saw of salarians. His wide black eyes were on Councilor Valern, who sat in a chair as he talked. Errahe had procured some new armor, which was black and dark blue. Clearly, it was stealth armor. He looked up at me as I walked in the door.

Never, in my life, had I been able to understand how salarians like him managed to still be combat effective at older age. I guessed it was one of the mysteries of the galaxy.

Nesk was our vorcha team member. He was thicker than the average vorcha, which wasn't saying too much. He was certainly no Eryc. His needle sharp teeth were displayed in what was an attempt at a smile. His wide crimson eyes were on me as I entered. Nesk was one hell of a fighter, which was what I expected from a former member of a mercenary gang.

"Good to see you, Colonel." Councilor Valern greeted with a nod.

"Heard about promotion." Errahe said in his rapid-fire speech, "All real fighters must be dead."

Despite how bitter I was about the death of so many over my rank, I couldn't help but lift my mandibles into a smile. Errahe was one of those people that could get anyone to smile, no matter how bad things were.

"Glad you made it off Palaven, Colonel." Nesk hissed. "Heard things were really bad. Saw a little of it headed towards Heshtok."

"Thanks, Nesk." I answered. "Your people safe?"

"Yes, Colonel." He replied, "They're just waiting for the signal to go and they'll join your forces in the attack."

"Two million, right?" I said, smiling.

"Two million?" Nesk hissed, his voice reflecting amusement. "You apparently haven't heard how much Clan Enute has grown since Council support."

"How much?" I wondered.

"Our civilians have tripled and our raw military numbers have doubled."

"Four million?" I whispered, barely able to believe it.

"Four million." Nesk agreed.

If I were a more excitable type of person, I might've started cheering aloud. Instead, I allowed myself a small smile as I heard Lena and Allison gasp behind me.

"That's the best thing I've heard since this has started." I told him. "Thank you, Nesk."

"Thank Shink." He replied. "He's the one who's been fighting Heshtok over control of more clans. Now, our people have moved to a very remote and inhospitable world until this fight's over."

"Smart." I told him. "The military's there?"

"Yes, Colonel." He replied. "The Alliance has assured us as many transports as they can manage when the battle comes and we use up very few resources. So we should be fine as long as the Reapers focus on Heshtok."

"That's good to hear, Nesk." Councilor Valern replied. I glanced at him, having forgotten about the salarian Councilor in my excitement. "And I'm glad, Colonel Vether, that a more reasonable Dalatrass has taken over."

"Says the man who's been fighting us from the beginning." Allison replied behind me. I couldn't help but agree with the sentiment.

Councilor Valern didn't look offended by the statement, merely shrugging.

"I represent the Salarian Union." He replied. "I follow their directives. What I want or don't want is irrelevant."

I conceded that point to him. It was hard to remember, sometimes, that the Councilors represented their respective governments. Which meant that they weren't the leaders of their governments, they just took orders from them and represented their interests.

"I only wish Thessia had someone more reasonable." He muttered.

"Tevos giving us trouble?" Errahe asked.

"The asari don't want to deal." Councilor Valern replied. "They haven't seen firsthand what's happened to Earth, Sur'kesh and Palaven. They think that being the most advanced species in the galaxy matters. They haven't felt the heat yet, though my sources tell me that a small chunk of the Reaper forces broke off from the forces on Earth and are headed for Thessia. They're bypassing right by the asari fleet, if the reports are correct."

"Well," Errahe started, "When Thessia starts burning, they'll come around."

"Indeed." Councilor Valern agreed. "Now, I've got a lot to do, coordinating supplies and refugees."

"We'll meet you on the ship, Roluck." Errahe assured me, walking past me and to the door. Nesk gave me a nod, then did the same.

"Where to next?" Lena asked from behind me.

"We need to visit Councilor Sparatus." I told them.

"Down the hall, last office on the right." Councilor Valern answered distractedly, typing on his terminal.

"Thank you." I muttered, letting myself out with Allison and Lena in tow.

Councilor Sparatus' office was just like Councilor Valern. There was a terminal in the main room, along with a trio of terminals off to the left in case there was extra work that needed to be done. Unlike Councilor Valern, Councilor Sparatus actually had two turians and a human at those terminals. All of them looked to be working frantically.

"Busy?" I asked as I walked in. Councilor Sparatus looked up at me.

He looked even worse than when I'd last seen him. His mandibles were drooping noticeably and his eyelids were half-closed with exhaustion. There was a very prevalent scowl on his face and his shoulder were sagging. The weight of his entire species was partially on his shoulders. However, I saw the noticeable glint of grim determination in his eyes.

"Vether." He muttered, "Right, I had something for you. First, I need some updates."

"Well," I said, starting my report, "All our human members are accounted for. Earth is far worse off than Palaven, I'd estimate thirty percent of the population gone, but they're managing to organize resistance cells in a guerrilla fashion to keep the Reapers on their world instead of finding other targets. They're also spreading out to increase the time it takes the Reapers to eliminate them all."

"That's pretty damn grim." Councilor Sparatus muttered. "We're still fighting militarily on Palaven and Menae, though we're slowly being pushed back. I'd give it a few months before we're like Earth is right now."

"On the upside," Lena said from my side, "We have the Salarian Army and the Salarian Second Fleet on our side. As well as four million troops from the vorcha and my Marines."

Councilor Sparatus nodded slowly.

"That is good news." He agreed, "I just don't trust to hope, at this point."

"I understand." I told him.

"On the other hand," Councilor Sparatus said, "Your old CO, Victus, is now the Primarch."

I smiled at the news.

_Victus._ I thought. _That'll be one hell of a turian to lead us in this war._

"He and Vakarian are together with Shepard." Sparatus continued. "They've both praised your plan and we're working ceaselessly to pull out of the smaller colonies so we can reinforce the bigger ones. They're also negotiating with the krogans for support, though I hear the Dalatrass is interfering."

"Dalatrass Eira?" I asked, surprised.

"No." He shook his head, looking back up at me strangely, "Dalatrass Linron."

"Might want to get Vakarian or Victus on comms and tell them to talk to Dalatrass Eira." I told him, "She's in charge, now. I'm not quite sure what she did to Linron."

"Eira." Sparatus repeated, typing on his terminal. "Anyways, that's enough of that."

He looked over at one of the turians at the terminals.

"Narith!" He yelled, "Get that datapad over here!"

Datapad?

The assistant searched around his cluttered desk for a moment, then pulled a datapad out from under a pile of papers. He rushed over to me, sticking the datapad in my hand. I looked down at it and nearly gasped in surprise.

The datapad displayed a picture of heavy black and blue armor. The armor was sleek, but thick. It was meant to withstand punishment. It was as advanced as the one I had on at the moment, but one thing made it special.

At the calves and shoulders of the armor, I saw tiny jets. I realized exactly what this was and looked up at Councilor Sparatus, stunned.

"Havok armor." He explained with a nod. "It was hard as hell to get my hands on, but I managed to find some from a Blue Sun who took pretty good care of it."

"That doesn't sound like something the Heirarchy would authorize payment for." Allison observed behind me.

There was a moment of silence from Councilor Sparatus as we gazed at each other.

"They didn't." He finally answered. He looked back down at his terminal and began typing slowly.

I immediately felt terrible for taking this armor, as if I'd forced him to pay for it, but I knew that was me being unreasonable. We both recognized that I was one of the few people out there who would make a difference in this war. I needed every edge I could get for me and my team.

"Thank you." I said quietly.

"If you help us win this war, I'll thank you." Sparatus answered, waving his hand dismissively. "The armor's being loaded on your ship right now and will be waiting for you when you get back on."

"Understood, Councilor." I replied. "Is there anything else?"

"No." He replied. "Just...keep me updated."

"I will." I promised, walking out of the office before things got a little too emotional for me. I was surprised to see Henry passing by me, headed for another office.

"Henry!" I yelled. Henry stopped and turned to me. I was glad to see he didn't look quite so devastated, though he still looked like someone had just kicked him in the stomach. "Where were you headed?"

"Councilor Udina's office." He answered. "Just to check in. You should probably join me."

"I will." I agreed, falling in behind him as he stood in front of a door. He took a small breath.

_He's nervous._ I realized.

He hit a button next to the door and it slid open. He strode in and I followed him. To my surprise, Lena and Allison joined me. I thought they'd want to go back to the ship and talk to everyone. Still, I wasn't complaining.

Councilor Udina was standing at his desk, reading a datapad as no less than six Alliance operators worked terminals around the office. He looked up from the datapad as we entered.

He looked even worse than Sparatus, which said a great deal. There were lines under his eyes that were just as dark as the ones Henry had on Earth before he got some sleep. His usually tan face had gone even paler than before and he looked way too skinny. His dark eyes seized upon Henry and his sorrow-filled gaze filled with the same hope I'd seen upon my return.

"Captain." He said, "I'm sorry about your father. I'm glad to see you made it off of Earth, though."

"We gave them hell in Africa." Henry replied, "But I'm needed up here, now."

"Indeed." Councilor Udina said, "You saw your mother, I assume."

"I did." Henry answered. "Thank you for helping her, Councilor."

"Hell," Udina said, waving a dismissive hand, like Sparatus had, "She's taking care of the orphans in that big house we gave her. We should be thanking her, personally."

I was surprised. She'd been given a house on the Presidium and decided to keep the war orphans in with her?

_She's a much more caring woman than my mother was._

"That's not why you called me here, I assume?" Henry asked.

"No." Udina agreed, gesturing up at me. "I'm glad you brought the Colonel, he should be here for this. We found out what happened to the batarians. The Reapers destroyed them before they even hit Earth. Apparently, the Reapers knew that the batarians had no support or allies and hit them before they could even get a distress signal out of their systems. We've led the remnants of the fleet to an Alliance dry dock. Neither us nor the Hegemony are too pleased that the Alliance rescued them, but we're managing. One of your former teammates is on his way over. Should be here in a couple days. So your mission has changed."

"Where are we headed now?"

"First, when you get back to the ship, Admiral Hackett wants you to join a War Council he's forming at seventeen-hundred, Citadel time. He'll have the message waiting and you can link up on your terminal."

"You got it, Councilor." I replied, glad he had some direction.

"Secondly, I want you to head out to Hahne-Kedar's headquarters on Illium and see if they can't spare any mechs." Udina said, "Anything they could give would be appreciated."

"I'll do that, Councilor." I promised.

"How's the Alliance holding up, sir?" Allison asked.

Udina sat back down at his desk, his white robes rustling. He stroked his forehead in a clear sign of trying to ward off a headache.

"They're surviving." Udina finally answered. "Admiral Hackett has been incredibly conservative in his use of the Alliance Fleets. They'll jump in, throw in one or two salvos at Reaper forces, jump out. They've done very little actual damage, but they're slowing Reaper movements. That's helpful, but nowhere near enough. Our smaller colonies are pulling back into the bigger ones, as planned. Unfortunately, we've lost contact with about a third of our smaller colonies. We're assuming the worst."

"Where does that leave us?" Henry asked.

"Twenty percent of our civilians are dead or presumed dead, along with forty percent of our military." Udina answered, resting his head on the back of his hands as he stared at the terminal, lost in thought.

"Spirits." I whispered, trying to calculate the number and losing track around ten billion.

"Obviously." Udina said, "This is just the first blow. We're spreading out, now. Making things more difficult for them. It's harder to exterminate a population when they know you're coming. There will still be a humanity to save, at the end of this."

"We'll do what we can to save humanity, Councilor." Henry promised.

"Then you're dismissed." Councilor Udina said, "I've got way too much work to do. Give them hell out there."

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group**_  
_**Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_


	63. Chapter 63

I sat down at my terminal, idly tapping at the desk with my talons as I waited for seventeen-hundred to come around. I was alone in the small office, preferring to leave everyone else out of the equation to provide a more focused meeting.

I was encased in my new armor, which Henry had been clearly envious of. I'd spent the last two hours trying to master the subtleties of the jets, then decided that it'd be best to leave them alone until I got the hang of them. Eryc had been teaching Henry some biotic maneuvers, while Lena and Ilna ate and talked up in the mess hall. Nesk was assisting the Alliance crew in some maintenance while Errahe sat up with Allison. Enua had closed herself in her room and was refusing to come out, but she'd be fine. People didn't live to her age without accepting the death of those that were close to them.

The terminal showed no less than twenty coordinated voice channels, but only half of them (Myself included) who would actually be speaking. Everyone else was listening in. As I watched, a few more of them turned green, indicating that they were present and waiting.

Each of these communications were heavily encrypted, to prevent Reapers from intercepting any of them. We were all in safe zones, areas that were heavily reinforced and would take groups of Reapers to take. So this War Council could be conducted privately, without fear of being overheard.

_Six more people._ I noted idly, looking back up and continuing to drum my talons against the desk.

I looked around my small office and was, as always, a little displeased by what I saw. Everything was sterile, silver, non-descript. I knew that Lena's room, where she often stayed between missions, had a rose and a couple other small decorations hanging around. Henry had...well...every weapon known to the galaxy strewn around the shuttle bay.

I had nothing. I had nobody I wanted to be reminded of, no particular victory I cared to remember. I sighed to myself. Maybe...

_You don't need it._

Just a few sips wouldn't hurt. I wasn't going to be talking on video, so I would be fine.

I opened the bottom drawer of my desk and pulled out a bottle of Palaven Brandy, Year 2153. I pulled out my glass from the same drawer and poured a few fingers of brandy into the glass. I replaced the bottle and swirled the drink in the glass slowly as I looked back up at the screen.

_Two more._ I observed._ Shepard and...Aria T'Loak?_

I just shrugged, sure I'd find out what she was doing on there, soon enough.

I tipped the glass back and let a little of the brandy drain into my throat. The warm liquid soothed me and eased my nerves in the slightest. I sighed blissfully as the last two members finally showed up to the chat.

"We're all here, then." Admiral Hackett's rough voice spoke from my terminal. "We are convening our first War Council in the Reaper War. We plan on expanding the Council, depending on who joins our forces. Now, our main speakers will be myself, Commander Bailey, Commander Shepard, Colonel Vether and Dalatrass Eira. Aria T'Loak will be joining the speakers as soon as her forces are committed. Urdnot Wrex and Primarch Victus will be joining the speakers as soon as the Genophage is cured and their alliance is cemented. Dalatrass, please speak to that."

I couldn't help but notice that Urdnot Wrex and Primarch Victus were both on the list of listeners.

Wonder how she's going to keep it from being uncomfortable. I thought to myself as I raised the glass to my lips.

"Yes," Dalatrass Eira said, her familiar voice almost as welcome as the brandy that I sipped down. "Ever since Linron, I've been doing my best to repair the damage my predecessor did. However, Wrex and I have established a mutually beneficial relationship and are committed to forging ahead. Part of our alliance is the guarantee of krogan peace after the war, while they get five colonies to rebuild on. So far, despite an issue with a bomb on Tuchunka, things have gone as smoothly as we could hope."

"The Reapers?"

"A Destroyer's parked at the Shroud, trying to poison the atmosphere." Commander Shepard cut in. Her voice was very terse, the voice of a woman who'd seen too much and fought through too much. From what I heard, she was half cybernetic, these days. Her brother was even worse. He'd been almost completely rebuilt.

I looked down at my own, mostly cybernetic, hand.

_Spirits,_ I suddenly thought, _What if the Reapers can control cybernetics?_

I filed that uncomfortable thought away, electing to take another sip of brandy instead. The warm drink washed away my worries, momentarily.

"What's being done about that?" Hackett asked.

"Well," Commander Shepard answered over my terminal, "We're going to try a combined attack on it and keep it busy while my team sneaks into the Shroud. Still, we've got a week and a half until it can disperse the poison, from what Mordin tells me. So for the moment, we're going to investigate something out by the Rachni Relay. Then we'll deal with the Destroyer."

I decided to add my voice to the meeting.

"Commander Shepard." I spoke into my terminal, "Colonel Vether, Special Tasks Team Zeta. We're headed to Hahne-Kedar's HQ on Illium. Not sure what that will entail. After that we can be loitering at Tuchunka and, on your word, assist in keeping that Destroyer busy while you sneak in the back door. Our pilot has...considerable experience against Reapers."

"Vether?" She asked, "I've heard a lot about you. But yes, I would appreciate the assist."

"Very well." I answered, glad to be of help. I took another sip and eyed the quickly diminishing brandy.

"Colonel Vether." Admiral Hackett started, "What's being done on your end?"

"Well," I said, putting the brandy down, "As I said earlier, we're headed to Hahne Kedar to see if we can get mech assistance from them. I don't know what kind of assistance we can expect, but their CEO owes us a very substantial favor. Dalatrass Eira has been gracious enough to give us the Salarian Union Army and the Salarian Second Fleet for the counter-attack, as well as the Salarian Third fleet for assistance on our missions. Admiral Lena'Zuril, who is part of STT Zeta, has pledged the full numbers of the Migrant Fleet Marines, who we have waiting at an unspecified location. We've also been pledged a four million strong army from Clan Enute, who are being held back on a very remote world until the time for a counterattack comes. We're also trying to build a fleet, but more on that when it develops."

"Impressive." Admiral Hackett noted at my words. "That's one hell of a force, already."

"Well, sir," I started, "Most of what we're trying to pull are ground forces. It seems like Commander Shepard is getting most of the fleets while we get most of the armies."

"That's fine." Admiral Hackett answered. "Our counterattack is going to consist of three fronts, initially. We're going to have Shepard and her forces take back Sur'Kesh. They are going to need more ships than ground troops. It was a very smart move to withdraw, Dalatrass. Vether, you'll take back Palaven, which will probably be sparse of actual Reapers, but covered with ground forces from the ground resistance. The turian fleet will assist, of course."

"And you, sir?" I wondered.

Another sip.

"I'm going to lead what's left of the Hegemony and Alliance Navies and we're going to take back the batarian homeworld of Kar'Shan. Then the Marines and batarian army remnants will take out the ground forces."

"And the Crucible will be fired at each location, I take it?" Dalatrass Eira asked.

"We'll have a small but powerful fleet, mostly consisting of dreadnaughts and carriers, to protect the device and jump it in and out of the battlefields." Admiral Hackett confirmed. "It looks as though it will only fire at a local level, but it will be ready in six months time. Half of that, if we can get more engineers."

"We're working on it, sir." Commander Shepard answered. I drummed my talons on the desk, thinking.

"What about after that?" Commander Bailey asked, finally adding his voice.

"Well, Commander," Admiral Hackett said, "I've got bad news for you. The Reapers are slowly working their way up through small colonies to the Citadel, but seem to be much more concerned with collecting ground troops than anything else. My guess is you've got a couple months before the Reapers hit the Citadel."

"Good thing they'll just be using ground troops." Commander Bailey said. "We'll close the Citadel up before they get there and force a ground war, just the way we want it. We've got 300,000 C-Sec officers and enough thugs to fill a planet, so we'll hold. I'll start backing up supplies, to give us a surplus when they arrive. With preparation, we may be able to hold a month or two. I'm sure they want to hit the same target Saren tried to take, so we'll have a veritable army of whatever military is on station protecting that."

"Good." Admiral Hackett said, "After we're done with the first three planets, we'll hit Thessia and the Citadel simultaneously. Once we're done there, all of our forces will combine and counterattack on Earth, where a good third of the Reapers are stationed."

I nodded to myself. It was a good, solid strategy. We'd slowly work our way through worlds, giving the Reapers little room or time to breathe.

"And what about Cerberus?" Dalatrass Eira asked.

There was a long silence and to my surprise, Shepard answered.

"I'm hitting them whenever I get a chance." Shepard replied, "I don't know where the Illusive Man found all his troops, but we're decimating his forces at each location we strike. Better is that it seems we've gained some of their assets at each location, including a number of students and biotics from Grissom Academy."

"Good." Dalatrass Eira replied.

"Colonel Vether." Admiral Hackett said, "I want you more concerned with armies and fleets than engineers. Commander Shepard is helping me out a little more on that end."

"We'll take care of it, sir." I promised.

"Keep it up, people." Admiral Hackett said. "We'll reconvene in a week from now, same time."

"Yes, sir." Commander Shepard and I answered. Admiral Hackett left, as did everyone else but Shepard, who sent a small icon to me that informed me she wanted to speak to me. I waited, finishing off the last of the brandy. I wasn't drunk, right now, but I was pleasantly warm and free of worry.

Important, in this mission.

"Vether." She said, the hard tone gone and replaced with a familiar weariness and worry, "I wanted to thank you in person, but I suppose this will have to do. If not for you, this would all be a LOT harder."

"Yeah." I agreed. "We've certainly seen our share of this war before it started."

"So I've heard." She said, "While I was sneaking around with Cerberus, you all were fighting full-scale battles."

"Small covert strikes and treaty brokering are your specialty, Commander." I said, "Battles and tactics are our specialty."

"You said you had an Admiral by the name of Zuril over there?" Shepard wondered, her voice filled with curiosity. "I heard Tali mention her a few times, said she was some kind of geth sympathizer, but a very adept fighter."

"True on both counts." I answered with a smile as I thought of Lena. "She beat an entire platoon of quarian Marines in simulated combat to earn her spot on the Admiralty Board. And she met with a geth that could talk."

"Legion?" Shepard wondered. The name sounded familiar, but I'd heard so many stories from my crew it was hard to keep them all straight.

"Maybe." I said, "The name sounds familiar. Either way, she vied for a negotiation, but the quarians have attacked the geth and are contemplating an advance on Rannoch to finish the war."

"Dammit." Shepard muttered. "But your Admiral deprived the quarians of their ground forces?"

"It's a stalling tactic, at least." I muttered, annoyed by the very thought of the quarian-geth war. "Should keep the quarians from invading until they find a work around. That'll give one of us time to get in there and resolve it. Preferably you, since you seem to know a geth and an Admiral."

"Tali's an Admiral?" Shepard wondered, sounding very surprised.

"If what Lena said was accurate, yes." I replied.

"We'll deal with it when it comes." Shepard said, "Just know that we're cheering for you on the Normandy."

"And us for the Normandy, Shepard." I answered. "We're only organizing one side of this war. Don't be afraid to call us if you need us."

"Likewise." She replied. "By the way, I hear that Captain Gerrard is on your team."

"He is." I confirmed, "We picked him up in Africa, after the invasion."

"Remind him that I owe him quite a few drinks, sometimes. On me."

_Exactly what did Henry do to earn favors from Shepard?_

"And you do me a favor." I replied with finality, "Tell that asshole Vakarian if he sneaks a question into one of my interviews again, I'm going to invade the Normandy and kick his ass."

Shepard was laughing uproariously as she turned off the channel. I leaned back in my chair, looking at the empty glass gloomily.

_This whole galaxy's gone to hell._ I thought to myself._ An armada of sentient starships overwhelming the entire galaxy and still, people just can't stop fighting amongst each other as they're destroyed._

I poured myself another drink.

As I downed the next glass, I thought of my future after this war.

_Maybe I'll stay on in the military._ I mused. _On the very off-chance we survive this war._

It'd certainly be one hell of a way to go. Everyone was going to be a veteran of this war, but we'd been fighting it before it had even come to the galaxy. I'd be willing to be that I'd be a full General in five year's time. Maybe even a Primarch, after that. Our family name was a distinguished warrior name, after all.

_And I'm the last of it._ I realized. The thought was a little depressing. Then again, I bet Henry felt this way, too.

_We've all lost too much._ I reflected, _And this war isn't even close to being finished._

I finished the last of the brandy in the glass and looked down at it, wondering if I should have another.

_No._ I immediately admonished myself, _You've got a mission coming up. Get up and around with your crew._

I sighed and walked over to the sink, taking the time to wash the glass out before replacing it in the drawer. I headed for the door and took a look back at my office, making sure I hadn't left anything out.

_Dry and boring, as always._

I sighed and locked the door behind me before heading into the elevator. I wanted to see what Errahe had been up to, lately. I hadn't heard from him while we'd been apart.

The bridge was a practice in normal routine, now that everyone was settled in. I could hear Allison yelling crankily in the cockpit as I walked past the galaxy map, with the asari hanging around the cockpit and bridge, where they were needed. I couldn't help but notice that a few turians were up in the navigation seats that lined the bridge, as well.

I ignored the bustle as I noticed Errahe sitting in the Co-pilot's seat with Allison next to him.

"-salarian's right nut, huh?" He was asking, the words accusatory.

"I was angry at the time." Allison answered. I stepped behind them and cleared my throat. Errahe jumped a little, but Allison didn't even look the slightest bit surprised.

"Hey Boss." she said without turning around to check who it was.

"Allison." I muttered, "How far out are we?"

"An hour." Allison answered.

"Good." I replied. "So Errahe, what were you up to while we were split up?"

"I was with STG." Errahe told me, "Preparing them, teaching them to fight Reapers. Most of the Union trying to get the varren into the fight. Useless. Waste of time. Still, Dalatrass made smart move."

"That she did." I agreed.

"You know, Boss," Allison said. "I need to talk to you about some compensation. I took a little vacation to Illium, went to the beach. Couldn't get one man to look at me with the gross-looking scarring all over my left side from that damn banshee."

"Well," I muttered, gesturing with my cybernetic hand, "This thing didn't exactly bring the women from all over Palaven, either."

She looked up at me for a moment, then at my hand. There was a curious expression on her face as she looked back down at her controls.

"Right." She said, "Sorry."

I shrugged.

"Too bad you weren't on Palaven." I replied, thinking nothing of my next words, "Even though most turians aren't attracted to humans, we are all attracted to scars."

"Are you?" Allison wondered lightly, looking up at me with amusement creeping onto her face.

I was surprised at the light-hearted question, as well as the smirk that followed after I found myself silently grasping for an answer for an eternity. I must've looked like an idiot, in the state that question had put me in. Worse, Allison was letting the question linger to make me completely uncomfortable.

"Relax, Boss." Allison finally said, her voice still ringing with amusement, "It takes something that's not all scales, plates and scars to get me all hot and bothered."

I couldn't help but feel the slightest bit disappointed, an emotion that surprised me.

She cocked her head at me in curiosity, now.

"How long's it been?" She wondered.

"Since what?" I asked, knowing exactly what she was asking.

"Would politely cough to remind everyone of presence," Errahe said, "but would probably be ignored."

"You know..." Allison continued, completely ignoring Errahe, "Since you knocked boots."

_Another one of the myriad of delightfully inappropriate human expressions._ I thought bemusedly. _They seem to have an expression for everything._

When was the last time, though? It would've had to have been that two year hiatus we'd taken after the attack on the Citadel. There'd been a bar I'd hung around, a place for turians only. There had been a few one night stands, but nothing special or amazing. After Vanguard, it'd been all war prep and cybernetics and-

_Drinking._

I sighed, finally coming up with the only appropriate answer.

"Too long."

Allison didn't inquire further. Clearly, she hadn't intended for this conversation to take a gloomy turn. She turned back to her controls, her fingers moving between the controls as she silently went back to her navigation and button pressing. I looked at Errahe, who merely shrugged.

"Anyways." Errahe finished, ignoring the entire conversation that had just happened, "Last few months look the same as anybody who was training up to this. Training and planning. Would recommend seeing Enua."

That wasn't a bad idea. She was probably at least willing to talk to people, now.

"Good idea." I said, "I'm sure she'll be fine, but...that was still a little rough."

So I left without another word, thoroughly glad that Errahe had provided me with an exit. I was sure he'd done it intentionally, knowing him.

_Allison really needs to learn something about boundaries._ I noted. _That woman can really piss me off, sometimes._

Still, I knew it was her way of coping with stress, so I let it go. Again.

The elevator was clear, save for Nesk. I didn't know what he was doing up on the bridge, maybe lending a helping hand to the crew up here. I knew he enjoyed assisting people with their work around the Vengeance, which undoubtedly manifested from his innate desire to help his own people.

The vorcha gave me a nod as I boarded the elevator.

"Nesk." I greeted. "How has Clan Enute been? Besides the evacuation?"

"Good, Colonel." He hissed. "As said before, Shink had been fighting Heshtok over control of clans that came our way. With the Council allowing us an embassy, we weren't only getting clans from Heshtok. A lot of vorcha were abandoning the Blood Pack."

"I bet that pissed the Blood Pack off." I hedged.

"They tried to kill Shink." Nesk answered immediately. "Several times."

"What stopped them?"

"Me."

"He has a security team, now?" I wondered, impressed.

"No." Nesk replied, "It was just me."

I went silent, surprised at the idea that he'd put down Blood Pack assassins by himself. I envisioned him fighting a trio of heavily-armed krogan and found it surprisingly believable. I supposed that fighting with us gave one the kind of experience to do that. Blood Pack thugs going up against any one of us would be laughable, these days.

The elevator door opened onto the engineering level and Nesk started to walk out. Then he turned back to me, holding the door open.

"I want to thank you, Colonel, for giving my people a chance." Nesk hissed, his crimson eyes somehow managing to convey gratitude.

"Thank Lena." I told him, "She's the one who talked your parliament into it."

"I already thanked her." Nesk, "But everyone had a part in it. Even you."

He let the door slide shut and I couldn't help but let my mandibles lift in a small smile. It was moments like that one that made me applaud my decision to join STT Zeta.

The smile dropped, however, when the elevator opened into the shuttle bay. I had to talk to Enua and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Henry was at the bench, much to my surprise. I'd expected him to get some sleep, as tired as he had been when we'd picked him up. Instead, he was working on what looked to be some pretty heavy armor. I noticed with no small amount of pleasure that he was utilizing the tools the entire crew had chipped in for during his birthday. He looked up as I walked out and gave me a small nod.

He looked a little better. Not quite so...lost. I supposed that having a purpose (and Lena) helped soothe the pain a little.

"Henry." I acknowledged, returning the nod just before I disappeared around the corner and started walking towards Enua's room.

When I got to the door, I stopped and listened closely, trying to figure out what kind of mood I'd be walking into.

"You can come in." A terse voice said from the other side of the door.

_Right, she's a Spectre._ I remembered guiltily. _Forgot about that._

"Sorry." I said, opening the door to find Enua sitting on her rack. She looked up at me and I immediately realized that she was okay. Even if she was cleaning out her Vindicator as she watched me walk in. I sat down at the desk, which was littered with trophies and memories. I noticed a new one there, a small rebreathing unit that came standard-issue with top line volus environmental suits.

"I wish he'd told me, Roluck." Enua said wistfully, "But I can't exactly cry over it. I'm five-hundred years old. People dying around me is nothing new."

She sounded a lot more bitter than I would've thought at the end of that sentence. I understood, though. Everybody who met an asari or krogan went through the same thoughts. It seemed like the best thing in the galaxy, to live for over a thousand of years.

_At least, until you get to 150 and people start dying._

I never understood why there was such a stigma against asari mating with asari. If I was told that I would live over a thousand years and had to continually develop relationships with people who had a tenth of my lifespan, I'd jump ship and find another asari, too.

Which was just what Enua had done with Dr. Aline. So maybe she was a little more tired of the death than she let on. Besides, nobody was going to tell her off for it. She was a Spectre. Who in their right mind would try to question her choice of lovers?

"Besides." She continued, "I know I don't have it the worst. I heard what happened to Henry's father. And your brother."

"Yeah." I muttered, not sure how comfortable I felt about discussing it with her. "I was ashamed of him, you know? That's the worst part. I'd spent nearly thirty years being ashamed of my brother. And in a split second, I'd never been prouder."

"I understand." Enua said. "I know Henry's still getting over his father, but if he's up and working, I can at least shoot a few enemies for you."

"Glad to hear it, Enua." I told her, meaning every word of it. "If you need anything, let me know."

"I will, boss." She said, a smirk on her face. I could never figure out why she called me that. I assumed she was making fun of me for Allison calling me 'boss'.

I walked out of there, unsure what to do next. I still had over half an hour before we arrived at Ilos. I looked up in the general direction of my office and allowed myself a smile.

_I can still fit in a finger or two of brandy before we land._

With that encouraging thought, I headed back towards the elevator.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group**_  
_**Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_


	64. Chapter 64

"-nd she's getting near perfect marks in flight school." Eryc was telling an attentive Allison when I made my way up to the cockpit.

We were docked at Nos Astra and I was just making sure everyone was set before we left. While I didn't anticipate any fighting, I also hadn't anticipated any fighting on the Citadel. Following that, we'd been fired on by five indoctrinated civilians. So my new strategy was to stroll in just as heavily armed as we'd be if we were headed into battle.

The brandy had helped clear my head of the thoughts and distractions that were plaguing me throughout the last few missions. I had to make a note to, while keeping it under strict control, indulge in some when I got a chance.

As for what we were going to go through at Hahne-Kedar, that was anybody's guess.

"Your sister?" I wondered as Henry, Lena and I approached.

"Yes." Eryc answered. I realized that even though I'd gotten used to what Henry had referred to as 'The shark-toothed grin', I'd rarely seen Eryc let slip an honest smile. He was wearing one, right now. "She's excelling in that program. I've been sending her enough money to make it through, financially, so she should be out of the program in a few weeks."

"That's good to hear." Lena answered.

"She mentions you pretty often, Lena." Eryc said, "I think she's still impressed by what you did at the slaver camp."

"My Marines did most of it." Lena replied, humble as ever.

"Sure, sell yourself short again." Eryc said, waving a hand to dismiss her misdirection. "Colonel, did you see my interview?"

"Sorry, no." I replied, "I was busy with the meetings and such."

"Ah." Eryc replied with a nod.

"How was it?"

"It was fine." Eryc replied, shrugging his massive shoulders.

"Anyways," I started, "We're going to head out to the Hahne-Kedar headquarters. No telling what will come of it, but I doubt we'll need the Vengeance warm and ready to go."

I started to stalk off, with Henry and Lena following.

"Speaking of 'warm and ready to go'." I heard Eryc murmur as I rounded the corner to the airlock, "My rack is pretty cold right now."

"Well," Allison's voice reached me, "We do have a few minutes, right now and I don't have any tas-"

The airlock door shut behind us as the cycle started. Decontamination mists slowly sprayed us down and then the outer door opened into one of the interior landing bays of Nos Astra.

The docking bay was sparsely populated by people who, judging by their clothes, made more in two days than I made in a year. Stares were levied at us all, a heavily armed and armored group incidentally mingling with the wealthy socialites and merchants.

I sighed and decided that while we were here, it wouldn't kill us to make a few minutes of detour to a shop I'd heard about from Garrus. It had very high-end weapons modifications and I knew that with the mission we were on, it would be a hell of a good investment to hit the shop before heading to Hahne-Kedar.

_We aren't on a tight schedule, anyways._

I started walking, Henry and Lena falling in behind me. I noticed more than a few glares being sent Lena's way.

_Even now, at the end of the galaxy..._

I always wondered to myself exactly what I was fighting for, when it came to the galaxy. While it was true that I had nothing at home to fight for, I'd always hoped that I could see enough good in the galaxy to keep me on my feet and keep me moving forward.

_Yet, every day, the galaxy manages to fail me spectacularly._

I shook my head as we walked out onto one of the boardwalks of the luxurious city. Spires glittered magnificently in every direction, the beach and nearby ocean it towered over shining tan and light blue in the afternoon sun. I took a moment, taking the sight in. This may very well be the last chance any of us would get to see something like this.

It was hard to remember, sometimes, that we all had a verl low chance of surviving this war. Granted, the entire galaxy did, but once we gathered our resources and the time came for a counterattack, we would be at the proverbial tip of the spear during each attack. That wasn't something everyone typically survived.

"Beauty like this..." I started, watching from behind Lena and Henry as they approached the railing and looked at the ocean below, "Might not be something you'll get to see, again."

Even in Henry's depressed stupor, I saw a tiny smile steal onto his face as he glanced at Lena. Under the scandalized gazes of dozens of surrounding high-class types, he draped an arm around Lena's waist as they both looked out amongst the beautiful view.

I looked around for a moment, not sure what to do with myself.

"Take a moment for yourselves." I said. "I'm gonna go visit a store and I'll be back in twenty."

"Yeah." Lena answered distractedly, leaning up against Henry.

I stood there another moment, gazing at the two, before walking off, headed for the market.

_Why do you fight?_

I ignored that voice-always that voice-and kept moving. I idly wished that I had some brandy on hand, but I had priorities, right now.

The market district was set up a lot like the stores on the Citadel, but with a boardwalk that overlooked the ocean on one end. I trudged forward, looking at the storefronts until I found Rodham Expeditions. The storefront looked encouraging, with several high-end modifications on display. Stores like this always had special items for more discerning customers in a private stock.

I was pleased to find a turian behind the counter when I walked in. There was a news report on the monitor behind him from GNN that was quietly murmuring throughout the shop. The turian turned his attention to me.

"Adrien Dets." The turian introduced. "Are you authorized to purchase firearms?"

"Colonel Roluck Vether." I replied, digging in the pocket of my armor and coming out with my Citadel identification. "Looking to buy-"

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't mean to be rude." Adrien cut me off, holding up his hands, "But I've been waiting for this report all day."

It was rude, but as I looked up, I saw Eryc's face on the monitor. I stiffened in surprised. It looked as though I was going to see his interview, after all.

Even on the monitor, he looked impossibly big. He had an easy grin on his face and his eyes were bright with enthusiasm.

"STT Zeta." Adrien explained, to my great amusement. "They're one of the few people trying to get this war off the ground. They're a regular group of badasses. Every few days, there's going to be a a profile on the news. The last one was their CO, a turian. Footage of Earth accompanied it, some of the most horrifying shit I've ever seen."

I felt my mandibles lift in a smile as Urre's voice emanated from the monitor.

"Those without rank aside, you're the lowest-ranking member of the team." Urre observed. "How do you feel, being here?"

"Honored." Eryc replied. "Honestly, I'm a drop out from Grissom Academy, spending my days doing things that were a little less than legal to get by. Zeta saw my skill and thought I was worth a shot. I hope they've seen that their faith was justified."

_That we have, kid._

"Now, I've heard rumors around the ship about a sister?" Urre asked.

"That's right." Eryc replied, the smile getting wider. "STT Zeta helped me rescue my sister when she was being held in batarian slaving pens. A special thanks to Admiral Lena'Zuril and the quarian Marines for their assistance, as well. Alicia's doing well, she's in the Alliance's piloting program and should be graduating in a few weeks."

"Are you proud of her?" Urre asked. Once again, that rare honest grin overrode his manipulative-looking smile.

"Hell yeah." He answered, "We've come a long way, her and I."

"Now, I've also heard you don't particularly care for batarians."

"I don't." Eryc answered immediately. "I was a slave to them for six years and had to rescue my sister from them a second time recently."

"Slavers, all of 'em." Adrien muttered next to me, shaking his head in disgust.

"But you have a batarian member on the team." Urre pointed out, "Does that cause problems?"

"I don't hate Barin." Eryc replied without a second thought. I did see him shifting in his chair, though, clearly not comfortable with being on this topic. "I hate the batarians."

"Does your CO know about this?" Urre asked.

"He does." Eryc answered confidently. "I don't think he cares, as long as it doesn't interfere with the mission or the team, which I make sure it doesn't. Colonel Vether is li-"

"Colonel Vether?" Adrien muttered next to me. "Wait-"

He looked over at me and I gave him a friendly wave.

"Hi." I said.

Adrien looked completely astounded, his mandibles slack in shock. His green eyes were wide and the showcase weapon he held in hand was hanging limply from his talons. I couldn't stop the laugh that followed his reaction, but gestured up to the monitor.

"I didn't sit in on his interview." I said, "I'd like to finish watching it."

"O-of...of course!" Adrien exclaimed, then quieted himself.

"-an honor to work with Captain Gerrard." Eryc was saying. "I won't pretend I wasn't a complete handful when I got inducted into STT Zeta as an Alliance Marine again. He's helped me straighten out, though."

"And, since I've seemed to have gotten this question for each and every single person on my site..." Urre started, "Is there anyone special you're fighting for?"

_Allison._

"A special friend of mine on the Vengeance." Eryc replied, not much to my surprise. "And my sister, obviously. She's been a huge part of why I manage to get up in the morning."

"What do you mean?" Urre asked, clearly confused.

Eryc let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair.

"I was on Earth when the attack hit." Eryc explained quietly, his voice subdued as he seemed to have a staring contest with the camera. "All of our human combatants were. You don't forget something like that. Makes you wonder if getting up and fighting is even worth the struggle."

Eryc sighed and looked away from the camera, clearly embarrassed to be talking about this.

"Which is why you need to find something to hold onto." Eryc finished. "Every man and woman. Even Colonel Vether, who was on Palaven and Earth, needs something to keep him going. With him, it's dedication. With me, it's Alicia."

"Well, thank you for-"

"You're really him." Adrien said quietly, seeming awed. I ran a talon under the neck of my armor uncomfortably. I really wasn't a fan of being known on appearance. It would made things very difficult if we had to go undercover.

"Yeah." I finally answered.

"You were on Palaven?" Adrien wondered, his eyes filled with a sort of keen marvel.

"I was." I confirmed.

"How was it?" He whispered.

"The Reaper that landed was a Destroyer, I'm pretty sure." I told him. "Landed about a thousand yards from my house. In the few seconds before it blew my house apart, it destroyed a barracks and wiped out an entire platoon."

"Spirits." He muttered, his eyes wide. Sensing an opportunity, I continued.

"Earth was worse." I admitted. "Our military is still cohesively fighting on Palaven. But Earth? Their military is scattered and their people have taken massive casualties. They're organized into cells, now, trying to survive from day to day. They'll kill some ground forces, maybe a Reaper on the very rare occasion, then move."

"That's...that's terrible." He muttered, his eyes going distant. "What can we do about something like that?"

"We're doing what we can." I told him, flashing him a reassuring smile, "But to do that, I need the best damn weapons and modifications I can get my hands on."

That was Adrien's cue and he took it.

"So you've come to my shop?" He asked, sounding as proud as I'd ever heard a turian.

"I heard from a friend, Vakarian, that this shop was the best one on Nos Astra." I answered honestly. "We're here for something anyways, so I thought I'd stop in and see if there was anything we could use."

"Tell you what," Adrien replied, his mandibles lifting in a friendly smile, "I'll give you the employee discount, since you're using whatever you buy to directly take the fight to the Reapers."

"Thank you."

I moved through the shop, taking note of various modifications to arms, armors and omni-tools, before I started talking again.

"Do you know anybody in the war?" I asked, taking a look at an enhanced assault rifle scope. I looked at the datapad under it and started reading through the specifications. There was a silence behind me.

"I have a son on Menae." He finally said, his voice quiet and filled with worry.

I straightened in surprise and looked at Adrien, who was staring down at a datapad he had in his hand. He looked back up at me and nodded at my reaction.

"I get updates as regularly as I can." He said, "My son's still alive, but I don't kid myself about the situation on that moon. If he dies, he dies doing something that makes me the proudest turian you'll ever find."

"I understand." I told him. His gaze seemed to harden a little.

"Which is why I'm willing to bend the rules for you." He explained, "I know that you and Commander Shepard seem to be the only ones trying to assist in this war. If you or her manage to bring armies and fleets to Menae that help him and Palaven, then I will be pleased to have assisted you in any way."

"I understand." I repeated, not sure what else I could say. Or if I even had the right words to say.

"So," He answered, his voice returning to that of a businessman, "What can I help you with?"

"Well," I replied, a little thrown off by the sudden switch of attitude, "I was looking at this assault rifle scope. There's also something over there that looks intriguing, but I haven't gotten there yet."

"Well," He said, "This scope is new and top of the line. It differs from its predecessors in that it not only provides magnifications, but can switch filters between night vision, radiation detection and thermal vision."

"Very nice." I complimented, "What models does it fit?"

"It fits the old Mattocks, which have been seeing some use lately." Adrien replied. "The Vindicators can use em, as well as the Avengers."

I nodded and pulled my assault rifle off of my back. Adrien flinched for a moment, but realized what I was doing as I extended the weapon and compared the railing to the fit on the bottom of the scope.

"I've never seen a weapon like that." He muttered.

"Because it's a Cerberus weapon." I told him, "We got the plans for it when we raided one of their bases and I had my XO make it for me."

"Your Executive Officer makes weapons?" He asked, shaking his head in amazement. "You people are ridiculous, just so you know."

"I know..." I muttered, "This has a similar rail to the Mattock, so I'm sure Henry can rig it on. Get us...three of these, if you don't mind."

"I'll start pulling them up from stock." Adrien agreed, turning around and walking towards a door that led to the inventory of the shop. I found my gaze once again drawn to the device I'd mentioned to Adrian earlier and approached it.

Its name declared it to be a "Cockpit HUD." I was surprised when I looked at the back of the display packaging and found that the program basically set up a heads-up-display on the cockpit shield to display a bunch of stats on the cockpit that she'd otherwise be forced to ask of her engineers. It would take stress off of her and the nav crew both.

"Yeah," Adrien said, arriving behind me, "That model's gotten a lot of very good feedback from Alliance and turian pilots."

"I'd like one." I told him immediately, thinking of Allison.

"I'll add it to the list of items to send to the ship." He replied with a smile.

"Actually..." I muttered, having a thought.

_Why does it matter how she gets it?_

"Can I take this item with me?"

"Yeah!" He answered enthusiastically, "That shouldn't be a problem, since it's not a weapon. Send everything else to the ship, then?"

"Yes." I replied.

He handed me the small package, as well as a release order for the three parts to our docking bay. With a few words of thanks and encouragement for his son, I left the store and walked back towards the bays.

I found Henry and Lena still standing where I left them, still gazing out at the scene before them. I noticed that Henry was talking quietly to Lena as I moved towards the pair, though I couldn't really make out what was said. His eyes fastened upon me as I approached. I couldn't help but notice (though it could've been wishful thinking), that his eyes seemed a little more alive than before. I guessed that his talks with Lena had helped.

"What's that?" Lena asked, gesturing down to the small blue box I had in hand.

"Just a program." I told them. "I plan to give it to Allison, so she can have Anna run with it. It'll help both Allison and the navigation crew in coordinating during firefights."

"So you got Allison a present?" Lena asked, a suggestive tone in her voice.

"Let's go." I ordered, ignoring the question, "I saw the Hahne-Kedar HQ while I was on my way to the shop."

Silently, ignoring the high-class people around us staring at Lena and Henry, we started walking again in the same direction I'd gone earlier. While I was a little annoyed at the idea of heading right back where I'd been before, I had told them they could stay, so Lena and Henry weren't to blame.

_Still, _I reasoned,_ they have enough time on the ship. They should be-_

_Are you trying to stop that because of professional reasons or jealousy? _Another voice fired back.

I sighed as I shook the thoughts away. We had arrived at the Hahne-Kedar headquarters, a huge white building that nearly dwarfed its neighbors. It looked to be a hive of activity as we walked into the lobby, which had a desk at the end manned by a very weary human.

"Yes?" He asked, looking up at us as we approached.

"Colonel Vether, STT Zeta." I introduced. "I need to speak with George Sanders, as soon as possible."

"One moment." The attendant said, looking down at his terminal and doing a little typing, probably just for show. "Mister Sanders just got out of a meeting. I sent him a message and he says he wants to meet with you immediately."

That got my attention. If he wanted to speak to us immediately, something was wrong.

"What floor?" I asked.

"Sixty-three." The attendant listed off-hand.

"Acknowledged." I replied, immediately hating how military that had sounded. "Thank you."

"Yes, sir." He answered as I started towards the elevator. We all packed inside and the elevators closed.

"Wherever we go." I muttered, annoyed at being stuck inside an elevator, yet again. "Without fail, wherever we go, there will be elevators."

"You ever wonder if the Reapers have elevators in them?" Lena asked from next to me, "I mean, they're already horror-spawning machines, it only makes sense that that they'd take the next logical step in their upgrades during this cycle."

I couldn't help it. As inappropriate as it was, with the galaxy crumbling around us and a serious meeting coming up, I started laughing. The laugh was long, loud and completely necessary. I was surprised to hear Henry start laughing next to me, followed by Lena. After about ten seconds of it, we managed to calm ourselves down quickly.

"I'm glad to be riding this war out with you all." Henry finally said, "There's nowhere else I'd rather be, right now."

The door opened before I could answer and I was surprised to see George Sanders, CEO of Hahne-Kedar, already standing there. He struck a powerful figure, as tall as he was. Short blond hair and a well-kept beard framed his face, as dark blue eyes met mine.

His son, Harold, was at his side. I remembered saving him from pirates in the Nedelas asteroid fields. That little boy had been a handful, but he'd kept his cool adequately, for a human boy his age. His eyes lit up as the door opened and revealed the three of us. He made to come forward, perhaps to hug us, but his father kept a firm hand on the boy's shoulder, reminding the human boy of his manners.

"Colonel Vether." George Sanders greeted, holding a hand out. I strode forward with my team and shifted the box to my other hand so I could shake his. To my surprise, he shot past my hand and clasped me on the forearm. I smiled and grabbed his. "I'm not surprised to see you here, though your timing is impeccable as always."

"I was told you needed to see us urgently." I agreed, "What's wrong?"

"I know why you're here, Colonel." He said, gesturing to a small waiting area that we all filed into. Clearly, he was in a rush to get to the point, but had to go through the motions. "You're looking for armies. Mechs would make a great army."

"That was the idea." I admitted.

"I knew you'd be here eventually." Sanders replied, nodding his head as he stared out of the window. "I've had dozens of accountants calculate how many mechs we could release to you without going completely bankrupt."

"What did you come up with?" I asked hesitantly.

"A lot." Sanders admitted. "We were gathering the mechs on a station, but..."

"The Reapers saw the movements and knew something was up." Henry finished. I nearly groaned aloud.

"I need you to go there, Colonel Vether, to get your army." George Sanders replied. "My ships are holding the two Reaper ships at bay, but I have no doubt the Reapers will slip some transports or whatever they use around to get ground forces in there. You need to hurry."

I agreed, but there was something I needed to do, first.

"Mister Sanders." I replied, "I'm not one much for big speeches like the quarian behind me, but I appreciate this. You've been a good friend ever since we met you and you're coming through for the galaxy in a big way."

"You saved my son." Sanders replied, his grip visibly tightening on his son's arm as we all started to move towards the elevators. "I still am not sure that this makes us even."

"It does." I assured him, as the three of us piled back into the elevator. "Do me a favor and send the coordinates of the station to the SSV Vengeance. We'll take care of the rest."

"Good luck, Colonel." Sanders said, right before the elevator doors closed.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group**_  
_**Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
**_Lia'Vae - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot_**  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_


	65. Chapter 65

When I strode back onto the Vengeance, I sent Henry and Lena away and headed on up to the cockpit. Allison was already there, having received my message that we were in a hurry. I hadn't given her the HUD yet, but I still had it in hand.

I'd given her orders and now we were headed out to the Hahne-Kedar industrial station, from what Anna's readings told me. I'd proceeded to make a sweep of the crew and make sure everybody was ready to fight. Following that, I'd alerted the salarian Third Fleet and told them to standby for an attach and to bring transports. After that, there'd been a realization that we were going to need to get the mechs to the transports, somehow.

Which meant I needed help from someone who wasn't on the team. Ilna could hack her way through pretty much everything, but if Reapers were in the facility...we'd need somebody to load up the mechs while we fought. I had just the quarian in mind.

"Lena, can I talk to you?" I asked when I came down to engineering. I was relieved to find Lena there, as I really didn't want to go around her back.

The quarian woman looked at me and nodded. I drew her away from the rest of her people and said, "We need Risha'Zun for this mission."

"What?" Lena asked, "Why?"

"If we get in there and Reapers are infesting the place, we're going to need to clean it out." I explained. "However, if there's no switch or direction for these mechs, I need somebody who can hack through the systems while we protect them."

"I understand." She replied with a nod. "Urre can help her out."

_Not a bad idea._

"Let's get her over here."

"Risha'Zun!" Lena yelled over her shoulder, attracting the attention of a younger quarian with a black and dark green suit.

"Yes, Admiral?" Risha asked, separating herself from the crowd of quarians working on the drive core.

"We have a mission of sorts for you." I told her, glancing at Lena before looking back at Risha, "We're going to be dropping an unspecified amount of mechs into transports. Problem is, we have no idea what the security on these mechs will be like and we need our entire team to repel whatever Reapers try to land."

"So you need me to...hack them?" she asked, tilting her helmet and keeping her glowing eyes on me, "Get them from storage to the transports?"

"Yes." I answered, "That's exactly what I need you to do. We'll be covering you. I plan to have three teams, to maximize our flexibility. One will even be staying with you in the storage area, to ensure that you don't get...interrupted."

"I can do that, Captain."

I almost corrected her on the rank, until I remembered that, since I was in charge of the ship, I was the 'Captain' to every quarian except Lena. It was a show of respect from the quarians, not an intentional diversion from the rank I'd obtained.

"I appreciate this, Risha'Zun." I told her, "You're doing the fleet and your Admiral proud. Now, I gotta go see to our pilot."

The small box in my hand was still just begging to go upstairs, so I turned around and went right back to the elevator.

Allison was giving instructions to her nav crew as I went up there. Clearly, the small fleet defending the station had sent us some reading's so we'd know what we'd be flying into. From the looks of things on the monitors, there were seven large ships holding off two smaller Reaper ships. All of them appeared to be damaged in some capacity.

"I guess we'll know more when we get in there," Allison said, "But the Third Fleet is ten minutes out."

"And how far out are we?" I asked.

"Ten minutes." Allison replied.

"Do you have time to integrate something into your systems?" I asked.

That got her attention. Her head immediately snapped up to look at me, her gaze suspicious. I understood the sentiment well. She was the pilot, which made her feel that the Vengeance belonged to her. Loading anything into the ship was something that had to go past her if we didn't all want to pay the price for it.

"What kind of something?" She asked, her eyes still narrowed in suspicion.

I held up the blue box and her eyes immediately widened at the sight of it.

_Yeah,_ I thought to myself, _She recognizes it._

"That's the new TNX-782 interface!" She exclaimed, delight on her tanned face, "I've been meaning to ask you about getting one ever since we started this mission."

"Well, here it is." I said, not sure how to follow that up.

"You're the best, Boss." She informed me as she pulled the box from my hands and stared at it with delight written on her face. She tore the box open and pulled out a small drive from it, which she immediately inserted into a small port on the console.

"Anna!" Allison yelled, "I'm uploading something into the subsystems. Do a sweep on it, then integrate it."

"Yes, helmsman." Anna replied. There was a ten second silence, followed by: "Done. Loading it, now."

The reinforced glass shielding over the cockpit suddenly lit up, the edges of it lined with small orange boxes that displayed different statuses and conditions.

For the next ten minutes, Allison looked through the different displays, adding and taking away different screens and information until only a third of the original displays remained. Then, the blue field surrounding the ship began to recede.

"Thirty seconds." Allison stated. I quickly typed out a message for everybody on the combatant team (and Risha'Zun) to meet in the Shuttle Bay.

The field disappeared completely and we found ourselves right behind a current battle between a pair of small Reapers and seven large ships. Behind the ships was a simple-looking station built into a small asteroid.

The security fleet had taken some serious damage. I could see that several decks had been sliced through. A fe bodies floated through the void on inspection, but I had no doubts that the vacuumed areas had been sealed off to prevent further death of the crews. As always, since these were privately-owned ships, they had several upgrades that would be lacking on military ships. That was probably the only reason they'd held out for as long as they had. Judging from the sparse debris, though, it seemed as if they were slowly being pushed back towards the station.

As we watched, the two Reapers continually tried to come in around their flanks and pick off one ship at a time, but the seven ships were keeping a pack mentality. They'd move to one side to keep the ships from getting past them, but the maneuver was dragging them back towards the station.

"SSV Vengeance," Came a salarian voice over our speakers, "this is Admiral Torren, Salarian Third Fleet. We're behind the station and ready to launch an attack."

"How many ships do you have, Admiral?" I asked.

"A little less than a hundred, fighters not included." He answered immediately. "We're not exactly a full combat fleet."

"Give them a quarter of the fleet." I replied.

"This is Captain Collen." Came another voice from the Hahne-Kedar fleet. "We need full backup here, we're not going to last much lo-"

"Captain," I advised him, "If we attack with the full fleet, more Reapers will come to cause more casualties, I can promise you. A quarter is enough that it looks like you're merely getting reinforced by some contractors or the like. Hang back once the Third Fleet components get involved, understand?"

"Yes, Colonel." Captain Collen replied sullenly.

"And Admiral Torren, get those transports on the move." I ordered, "We'll drop directly into the storage area and start working. I want you to keep the Reapers from destroying the station, but don't be too worried about ground troops getting through. We'll take care of that."

"Acknowledged." Admiral Torren replied.

"Do us proud, Allison." I told her.

"I always do, Boss." She replied as I walked away.

_That you do._

I took a short trip down to the Shuttle Bay. Everyone was gathered there, checking over weapons and armor. I noticed that the assault rifle on the weapon's rack had already been modified with the new scopes. Which was really only Enua's Vindicator and my Harrier. I grabbed the Harrier off of the rack and extended the rifle, looking down the scope momentarily and adjusting what I needed to. Then I looked back up at everyone, who were all watching me expectantly. I noticed Risha and Urre conversing quietly in the corner.

"Three teams." I told them all. "We have no idea what this facility looks like, so we'll be jumping in here blind. I want Lena and Enua to stay in the storage area, wherever it is, to protect Urre and Risha'Zun. I'll take Nesk and Eryc. Henry, you take Errahe and Ilna. "

"Got it." Henry replied with a nod.

"We'll be dropping into unknown territory, so the two assault teams will be defending whichever way we need to. This should be simple, but it might be a little time-consuming. So everybody keep your guard up and don't get lulled into a sense of security."

There were affirmatives all around the group, then Anna's voice resounded through the Shuttle Bay.

"We're closing in on the station." She said. "ETA thirty seconds."

"Helmets on, people." I said, grabbing mine off of a rack and fastening it on. With a small pop, the helmet pressurized to prevent any leakage. I still uncomfortably remembered two and a half years ago, when Henry had defended the ship against the geth and his seal had broken. Had Krylin not been there, he would've suffocated.

_Krylin._ I thought to myself as the shuttle bay doors began to open. Ahead of the doors was a medium-sized bay for arriving and departing ships that had one large entrance and exit at the end of it. I walked to the doors and slapped a button next to the open door that extended a ramp down. As I led the way down the ramp, I thought of Krylin. A thought I had avoided for a while.

_I wish you were here._

I jumped off of the ramp and hit the ground with a grunt as everyone started jumping off the ramp behind me. I turned to the Vengeance and waited until Risha and Urre, our last two, jumped down from the ramp.

"We're off, Allison." I reported.

"Roger." Her voice replied in my ear, "Joining the fight, now."

The ramp retracted as the shuttle bay door closed. The Vengeance pulled off of the docking bay and banked towards the battle. I saw flashing and even through the vacuum of space and my helmet, could hear the loud roaring noises coming from the Salarian Third Fleet. Clearly, they'd fitted their ships to offend every kind of sense and sensor possible. I had no doubts that they were even modifying their heat and radiation output to confuse the hell out of the Reapers.

The best part? It was working. Though the Reapers were taking absolutely no damage, they seemed to be baffled by whatever the Third Fleet was doing.

"Alright." I told everyone, "Follow me."

We made our way to the door at the end of the bay and I opened it to find the wide hallway ahead of us completely clear of enemies. We swept through silently, weapons at the ready in case of any resistance. While the good Captain had mentioned anything about ground forces here, I wasn't about to rule it out.

We ended up in the storage room and the sight that met me nearly sent my mandibles into a frenzy of surprised shock.

Packed into an extremely huge garage were thousands of mechs of all types. For the most part, they were all LOKI mechs, though I saw FENRIS mechs here and there and a rare YMIR mech in the crowd. All of them had folded up, to provide more room.

"I knew they'd be giving us an army," Enua whispered behind me, "But I expected hundreds. Not thousands."

"Well," I said, recovering, "It looks like we've got our work cut out for us. The plans changing. Ilna, Lena, you're being pulled off teams to assist Risha'Zun. It will mean less assault, but we need to get these mechs out of here quick."

"You got it." Lena replied, urging the techs forward with her so they could get started on the mechs. As they started to search around the mechs for anything that might help, I got on my radio.

"Get those transports over here, Admiral Torren." I ordered, "We've got thousands of mechs here."

"We'll do what we can." Admiral Torren replied. "We'll try to get them all in one trip, evacuate them to the carriers behind the station and jump out before reinforcements arrive."

"Good call." I told him. "We're about to get started."

"Roger that."

"Colonel Vether," Captain Collen said, "I'm sending over somebody to assist your ground team."

"Captain," I started, appreciating the gesture but not wanting to drag along a useless civilian, "I appreciate the thought, but this is a very dangerous situ-"

"She'll hold her own, don't worry." Captain Collen assured me. "She's on her way in a shuttle, right now."

_She?_

I didn't have the time to argue, hearing the telltale sound of a Reaper passing overhead. Apparently, it didn't have enough time to shoot its lasers down and destroy the facility, but I heard a lot of thudding above.

"Colonel, they've dropped troops." Admiral Torren informed me. "About a quarter mile east of your position. They're infiltrating the compound now. From the east, far as I can guess."

"Thanks, we'll take care of it." I replied. I looked up at the bay to find two doors, other than the one we'd come through. "What's the status on the mechs?"

I looked over to see the tech group talking, then Lena looked up at me.

"We have programmed a bypass that should be able to activate and command twenty at a time, if we push it."

"Got it." I said, "We'll take care of the attackers, just make sure those mechs get on transports."

"Acknowledged."

"Henry!" I barked, "You take Enua and Eryc. Errahe, Nesk, you're with me. Henry, take that entrance."

I pointed to an entrance and he gave me a nod, gesturing to Enua and Eryc and leading them towards the door. I gave Nesk and Errahe a nod.

The three of us entered another hallway, this one much smaller than the one that led out to the shuttlebay. It was cramped, narrow and...

"Perfect for a barricade." I noted. I looked around and was none too pleased to see very little that would help us create a barricade. I looked back at Errahe and Nesk.

"I'll keep the hallway clear." I told them, "Go grab some clutter from the storage area and drag it in here, will you?"

With affirmatives from both of them, they disappeared from the hallway. I heard that strangled cry that I'd come to associate with a cannibal. I looked back down the hallway, Harrier at the ready.

Within a couple of seconds after the cry, a husk and a cannibal rounded the corner. Neither seemed surprised to see me, the husk speeding up as the cannibal raised its weapon.

The reaction surprised me and, as I put a pair of rounds through each of them without the slightest moment of hesitation, I realized that something was a little bit off. It didn't have the feel of an ambush, but I felt like we were being led on.

"Lena, Ilna, be on your guard." I ordered, "Something doesn't seem right."

"Acknowledged." Lena answered.

_Nesk and Errahe need to hurry up._ I thought anxiously, rifle still pointed down the hallway. I heard movement beyond, but they weren't attacking yet. _Are they regrouping?_

The door behind me open and I glanced back long enough to see Nesk dragging in a small work bench and Errahe carrying a broken mech. Nesk slammed the table down in front of me, on its side. Errahe threw the mech on top of it.

"Nesk, help me out." I told him, "I think they're organizing. Errahe, grab more stuff so we can makes this barricade a bit thicker."

"You got it."

Nesk had his shotgun, the Eviscerator Henry had made for Lena, out and ready to be utilized. He ducked behind the barricade and I did the same.

I peeked through a hole in the barricade to see a trio of marauders come around the corner, all of them surrounding a brute.

_There's no way we can take them out, normally._ I immediately realized.

I immediately started looking around for something else I could use as the Marauders started firing, forcing us down so the brute could advance. I felt my mandibles lift into a smile as I spotted a 'flammable' icon on one of the pipes running the ceiling.

"Nesk!" I yelled as rounds skipped over our heads, "Do you have incendiary rounds?!"

"I do, Colonel!" He yelled back, his needle-sharp teeth stuck in a grimace as a round skipped off the barricade only inches from his head.

"Switch to your SMG and load them!" I yelled.

Nesk didn't question the orders, switching over to his Tempest immediately and popping out the thermal clip. He pushed in one that he grabbed out of a pocket as I popped up and sent a hail of accurate rounds down directly at that icon.

I watched with immense satisfaction as a pair of rounds put a hole directly in the pipe. Even over the din of four assault rifles and the slow stomping of the brute, I could hear the hissing of gas. Even better, the group was directly under it now.

"Cook them!" I yelled.

Nesk stood up from cover a little bit and I heard a hiss of pain and a meaty thud as a round hit him, somewhere. Nesk stood his ground, though, letting out a burst of crimson rounds down at the gas and ducking back down.

With a concussion that nearly ruptured my eardrums and forced me to the floor on my stomach, the gas ignited, exploding through the hallway. I felt heat on my back as the fire jetted directly over the barricade.

"Woah!" I heard a female voice exclaim.

There was no time to take stock. I looked over the barricade to see the marauders down and the brute struggling to get to its feet. Nesk was still standing, despite a bloody hole in his chest. He switched to the Eviscerator and began to unload into the brute. I did the same, letting out a burst of rounds that finally dropped the big damn thing.

I turned to find what had to be the contractor (It was a nicer word for 'mercenary', since her job was to shoot things) that Captain Collen had sent my way. She was pressed to the floor, clearly having dodged the explosion. As she looked up, I was able to get a better sense of her.

She was human and small. At least, as far as humans went. She was built athletically, but with curves in the kinds of places Eryc had informed me were aesthetically pleasing. She had a heart-shaped face framed by shoulder-length golden hair that had a few small braids running through it. I reminded myself immediately that contractors were not under the same standards as Alliance personnel. Bright green eyes assessed the situation before her. I was hesitant to put a number to her age, since she had to be older than she looked if she was a merc.

She was armored in a thin black armor, meant more for flexibility and barriers than actual armor. On her breastplate I saw a small white sword (Or something) with a pair of thin animals wrapped around it , which I remembered as the human symbol for a medic. There were a few pouches around her legs and arms, separate from the armor. She was wearing only a dark rebreathing unit with a white cross on it, undoubtedly self-fashioned.

_A combat medic?_ I guessed, _Interesting._

As for weapons, she was armed very simply. A Mattock sat on her back, with a Paladin at her side. I idly wondered how well she could actually use those weapons.

"What's going on in there?" Lena wondered over my headset.

"We're fine." I assured her. "Nesk took a bullet, but he seems okay. Where are we at with the mechs?"

"We got a couple hundred headed for the transports." Lena reported, "We're working as fast as we can. That medic get to you?"

"Yeah." I replied. "Keep it up, Lena."

"Affirmative."

Errahe walked in, glanced at the combat medic, but continued to drag along a pair of defunct LOKI mechs.

"I'll help." The medic offered, grabbing onto a mech. Errahe gratefully handed it over to her and they both started to maneuver the mechs on the barricade to bulk it up.

"You alright?" I asked Nesk, taking stock of his wound. It was in his right pectoral, which wasn't fatal to most species, but I had no idea about vorcha physiology.

"I'll take care of him, Colonel." The woman assured me cheerily, her voice bright and upbeat. I instantly regretted that the Captain had sent her here. She was going to get herself killed.

I looked past her to the hallway beyond. It was still clear.

"Errahe." I said, "Help me cover while she attends to Nesk."

Errahe nodded and joined me. I looked down to the medic, who was forcing Nesk to lay down.

"April Janson." She introduced distractedly, not looking up from her work as she drew a knife from her pocket. "On contract with Hahne-Kedar. Hold still, this is going to hurt."

She immediately started to cut at the wound.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded, as Nesk hissed in pain and glared at her.

"Vorcha heal very fast." She replied, "Part of their adaptive mechanism. I'm cutting out the scabbing to give me access to the wound and bleed out any infection. Here, turn onto your side to get all that out."

I nodded, not sure about the logic, but the way she had fired the answer back convinced me she at least knew a little bit about what she was doing.

"You are Colonel Vether, right?" She asked as I looked back down the hallway. I could hear some shuffling around the corner. "There isn't another turian on the team?"

"No." I answered, "You've got the right one."

A trio of husks came around the corner, backed by a pair of cannibals. I ducked down as the firing began. I looked over to April and was surprised to find that, judging by her body language, she didn't even seem that bothered by the bullets slicing through the air over her head.

"Cannibals or husks?" I asked Errahe.

"Husks." He answered. I nodded and waited for a gap in the gunfire before coming back over the barricade with my rifle. I aimed in at the cannibal on the left and put a pair of rounds into its face, dropping it instantly. As a tidal wave of rounds from Errahe's dual Locusts mowed down the husks, I switched to the last, still-reloading cannibal. I didn't bother with accuracy too much, satisfied with sending four rounds through its chest.

As the cannibal fell, I looked back down to Nesk. He was grasping onto a mech with one hand and the table with his other. April had unceremoniously stuffed a roll of tape into his mouth to clamp down on as she used some sort of thin metal stick.

"What are you doing?" Errahe asked, clearly confused.

"Cutting edge tech." She replied. "Uses a powerful magnet and very small mass effect fields to gently pull out any shrapnel left by the round without tearing it back through."

"Where do you get access to that kind of stuff?" I wondered.

"I'm a contractor." She replied happily. I heard Nesk groan a little, but she pulled the small rod out and I could see tiny pieces of metal stuck to it. "I'm just gonna bandage this up, but he'll be fine as long as he gets some anti-biotics on the ship."

"Good." I replied, begrudgingly impressed. I was about to add something onto that, but saw movement out of the corner of my eye, followed by a bloodcurling shriek.

"What is that?" I heard April say next to me, but I was already up and sighting in. We needed to kill this banshee quick. The long, spindly creature started to stalk towards us, the air around it crackling with the light blue of barriers.

Everyone began pouring rounds at it, the only strategy we had against that thing. I was surprised to see a small but focused ball of biotic energy hurled at the banshee, disrupting the barriers slightly. Between April's biotics, my assault rifle and both of Errahe's Locusts, we simply overcame it through sheer firepower. When it sank to the floor with a shriek, I was surprised to find a whole crowd of cannibals and husks behind it, masked by the banshee's presence.

It was a very effective attack. They'd sent a heavy unit forward and masked an advance behind it. The only thing that saved us was how quickly we'd brought down the banshee. I fired three rounds between different targets, merely trying to hold off the mass as everyone fired around me. For her part, April was holding up well. She fired accurately and calmly enough, despite having recently had a banshee thrown at her for her first time.

I cursed in frustration as I ducked back down and started to reload. We were suddenly joined by a trio of intermittent SMGs. As I reloaded, I looked back to see three LOKI mechs shambling through the door, their SMGs up as they fired into the crowd. Encouraged, I slammed a new thermal clip into the weapon and kept up the firing. Between the six of us, the crowd eventually thinned out.

After a well-aimed shot through the throat from April, the last husk went down with a gurgle.

"Thanks, Lena." I said, "They arrived just in time to help us out with a small army."

"I figured you could use the help." she admitted. "It sounded hectic in there."

"It was." I agreed. "How's everything in there?"

"We've had a couple of enemies come through the main door, but we have enough mechs activated that they pretty much blew the cannibals apart." She reported, "We've managed to come up with a signal that sets an activation program in each mech it touches. So right now, we're just waiting on all of them to start up and transports to swap out."

This brought up an entirely new concern that I hadn't thought of, yet. The Reapers had untold hacking abilities and while they couldn't just use them on a fly-by, they could easily hack the entire army in the storage unit if they had enough time.

Which was why it was even more imperative that the Third Fleet hold them off.

"ETA?" I asked.

"Five minutes, if all goes well." Lena said.

"Henry, how are you holding up?"

"We're fine, save for Eryc breaking his hand on a marauder's face. Idiot." I heard Henry reply over the boom of his sniper rifle, Angel. "Mild resistance, only one heavy so far. It was new, though. Some sort of bug-type thing that could fire what seemed to be small missiles. So watch yourself."

"Thanks for the heads up." I acknowledged. "Admiral Torren, how goes it?"

"We're holding." He replied, "We lost a frigate and a few fighters, but that's it. We can't keep the Reapers contained enough to stop them from dropping troops, but we've kept them occupied enough that they can't shoot at you or start hacking mechs. We're doubling up on transports in the bay. A bit dangerous, but it'll get everyone loaded on faster."

"Acknowledged." I said, "I'd recommend siphoning in more of your fleet. I've been given a-"

I was cut off by a pair of rounds that sailed to close to my head and looked over to see a pair of marauders coming around the corner with a husk in tow. I bent low to the barricade as Errahe and April fired on them. Nesk also popped up with his SMG and added that to the fight.

"I've been given an ETA of five minutes until total activation." I continued, "I'd guess about ten minutes to load them all on and get them to the carriers. So feel free to start sending more of your fleet to assist."

"Got it." He replied. "We'll step up the tempo."

_Good._ I thought to myself as the marauders fell. _And whoever's commanding these ground troops must be low on forces, because the attacks have been sparse since that last push._

"How light is the resistance over there?" I asked Henry as Nesk put down the husk with his Tempest.

"Very." He replied, "They made a big push, but now it's only intermittent. It's strange, though, they seem very well organized and the groups are very well balanced. There's never just ranged units or husks. Always a mix."

I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one that noticed it.

"I noticed the same thing." I agreed, "I think they might have a commander of sorts."

"Like Elura or Saren?" Lena theorized over my earpiece.

"Possibly." I answered. "Be prepared."

We waited for another tense fifteen minutes. I could hear the booming of weapons being fired from ships outside, telling me that the battle was coming closer, but we all managed to stay silent and wait it out.

Not seeing resistance somehow made it worse. I was very tense, jumpy, just waiting for something to step around the corner and start firing at us.

_Maybe some new nightmare the Reapers have engineered._

I was surprised when Lena came back over my earpiece.

"We're good, Roluck." She said, "The last of the mechs have been loaded up."

"Got it." I answered. "Allison, come get us. Everyone, fall back to the shuttle bay."

"What about me?" April asked as I covered the hallway so everybody could slip through the door behind us.

"Depends." I said as she transitioned through the door. I went last, turning and firing on the control to the door to slow down anything that tried to come through. I turned to find that Lena's team had already headed to the shuttle bay, leaving the storage area empty. "You can go back to your fleet, but we could really use a combat medic on our team. We've got a doctor, but some of our ops have us away from medical attention."

"Does it pay?" She asked brightly, her green eyes sparkling with interest.

"We've been given discretionary funds." I answered as Henry's team came out of the far side door. I noticed Eryc nursing his hand as Henry followed my example and shot the controls to the door. They ran towards us and started to filter into the large hallway to the shuttle bay. Henry paused in front of the two of us.

"Who's she?" He asked.

"April Janson." she introduced again as we started jogging through the door and into the hallway. "I'm a Hahne-Kedar contracto-"

"Merc." Henry corrected lightly as we exited through the door at the end of the hall to find ourselves in the shuttle bay. Everybody else was already here, setting up a defensive position as we waited for the Vengeance.

"Merc." She agreed without pause. "I would like to join the team, if your Colonel doesn't mind."

"Is she any good?" Henry wondered, looking at me as we approached the rest of the group.

"She knows enough about what she's doing to have pulled a round out of Nesk." I answered. "And she knows how to shoot a gun without losing it and she's got biotics."

"That sounds like the kind of person we could use around here." Henry admitted.

"I'm in?" April asked excitedly.

"You're in." I agreed. "I'll buy out your contract. I don't think Sanders will have a problem with it."

April didn't answer, but I could tell that she was smiling under the mask.

"You won't regret it, Colonel." she promised.

I didn't answer, looking out at the battle as the Vengeance arrived and the ramp to the Shuttle Bay started to descend. There were dozens of salarians ships, pushing through maneuvers that were typically seen of smaller craft. They were emitting noises and flashing lights and I had no doubts that they were launching Electronic Warfare attacks and sensor dampening. All that to combat two Reapers.

Two Reapers who, as I watched, sliced through a frigate with ease, essentially cutting it in half. I nearly winced at the sight, wishing we could've gotten this done faster. I looked up to see the rest of my team on the ramp. I hurried after them, determined to be the last one to leave the Shuttle Bay. Weapons fire followed me as enemies started to flood into the stations shuttle bay, but I was already too far up the ramp. As I arrived in the Vengeance's shuttle bay, I got on my comms unit.

"Captain Collen, Admiral Torren, get the hell out of here ASAP." I ordered.

"Affirmative." they both answered.

"Allison," I said, "Get us back to the Citadel."

"You got it, Boss."

As the door to the void closed, my stare remained in place.

_We're going to beat you._ I promised the Reapers, knowing full well I was talking to myself. _Whatever it takes._

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group**_  
_**Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**April Janson - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer  
Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_


	66. Chapter 66

I sat up in the dark in the War Room, staring at the newest update on what I called our 'War Assets'. We were about a half-hour out from the Citadel and while everyone else was resting, I had work to do.

_Six thousand mechs._ I thought to myself.

They wouldn't win the war themselves, but mechs would be a hell of a lot hardier than us regular beings. It was hard for a husk to beat down a robot.

I looked back to the messages panel as I swirled the finger of brandy I had in my glass. Though the room was dark, the orange and blue glows of the center panel lit enough room for me to see what I was doing. I didn't care for lights right now, finding it was easier to process everything when it was quiet and dark.

The first message was a reply from George Sanders, concerning a transfer request I'd sent him.

_Colonel Vether,_  
_While I do wish you'd given me a little more heads up, I'd be more than happy to let you buy out April Janson's contract. I'll send the papers electronically in a couple days, but feel free to utilize her in the meantime. I hope she is useful to your team. And thank you for saving my fleet._  
_-George Sanders._

I allowed myself the smallest of smiles before sipping the brandy, glad that I'd managed to convince him to allow us use of his combat medic. She would certainly be a useful addition to the team, especially as a role that we didn't have covered. It'd also allows us a little more flexibility on missions. Lena wouldn't have to rush to Dr. Aline as quickly and the more moderate wounds could be staved off a little longer.

I moved onto the next e-mail.

_Colonel,_  
_Just wanted to let you know that the next time you make it to the Citadel, I'll be there waiting in the refugee sector. I've already been authorized to travel with you by what little is left of my leadership, so there will be no issues. After what's happened to Kar'Shan, I could use a little payback._  
_-First Sergeant Barin Pazin_

He'd gotten all kinds of promoted. Though, seeing as most of the Hegemony was dead, it wasn't too shocking. Nor was the fact that he'd been accepted back to the Hegemony. I moved on, encouraged that Barin was going to be coming with us again.

The third was from an unnamed person on Tuchunka, though it didn't exactly take a scientist to figure out who it was from. Especially given the opening sentence.

_You mangy goddamn bird,_  
_Surprised to hear you made it off Palaven. Those Reaper troops must be getting sloppy. I regret that I can't join you, yet, but I need to stay on Tuchunka for the moment. Our leader is away and I'm having to...manage...his representative on Tuchunka. The asshole is completely terrified of me, but he's still an asshole. As soon as the Genophage is cured and Wrex is back in charge, I'll be back up with Zeta and killing Reapers again._  
_P.S. Tell Henry, from me, to stop being such a whiny little pyjack_  
_-Krieg_

I laughed aloud at his e-mail, the sheer annoyance of it reminding me perfectly of Krieg. I moved on to the very last message.

_Colonel Vether,_  
_Only two ships lost and for six thousand mechs. While I am saddened by the death of my personnel, I know that the mechs are more important. Send my thanks to your crew for getting them out of that storage facility so quickly. That made all the difference._

_On another note, I may have confirmation concerning the possible leader of the ground troops. As we were leaving the area, the Reapers ceased their pursuit and stopped over the facility for a moment. Then they destroyed it. This is atypical of their reported habits towards their troops, which is as utterly disposable. No word on who it is, though._  
_-Admiral Torren_

Lastly, there was a request for contact on the QEC, from Admiral Hackett. I sighed and finished off the last of the brandy in my glass, then set the glass out of view as I headed over to the QEC. I tapped into the terminal, connecting my QEC to Admiral Hackett's. There were a few minutes as I just waited.

_I should probably talk to April._ I reminded myself, _See how she's fitting in and all._

There was a beep on the console and I pressed the button, finding myself staring at a holographic rendering of Admiral Hackett. I had no doubts he was seeing me the same way. He looked exhausted, just like everyone else who was running this war. He still stood tall and proud, though. His ice-colored eyes regarded me as he spoke.

"How did the mission go, Colonel?"

"Good, Admiral." I replied, happy to have an answer. "We lost a couple of ships from the Third Fleet, but we have gained six thousand mechs, rounded down."

"That's good news." he replied with a nod and a thin smile, "Glad to hear good news, honestly. I've been doing what I can to harass the Reapers, but only so much can be done when you can't actually destroy them."

"How's progress on the Crucible?" I asked.

"Five percent." Admiral Hackett grumbled. "We need more engineers but, once again, that's Shepard's problem. I'm here for something else from you."

"What's that, sir?" I asked.

"Shepard is the galaxy's highest echelon of Special Forces." He answered, clearly trying to break whatever he was going to say to me easily. "She's half robotic these days, as well. That gives her a very distinct advantage over the average soldier. My problem is that I need someone to write an SOP about dealing with these Reaper forces.

I was surprised he was coming to me with this. I thought, for sure, he'd want to take Shepard up on it, instead.

"My first thought was Shepard," he said, immediately countering my thoughts, "but she's been enhanced by Cerberus, built stronger and faster than a normal human being. She wouldn't be able to give a fair assessment. You and your crew, on the other hand, are much closer to the average soldiers. You've had to face the Reaper ground forces in full-scale battles, rather than in small strike ops. So I want you and your crew, in whatever spare time you have, to create this for my forces so I can disseminate them amongst the less experienced."

"We'd be honored to." I told him. "We'll start with the single enemy SOPs, roll into combinations and send them to you as we complete them."

"That's good." He answered. "Keep up the good work and don't hesitate to get in touch if you need something."

"Thank you, Admiral."

"Hackett out."

The connection went dead and I contemplated silently.

_I'll do them between missions, with input from Henry and Lena._ I finally decided.

For now, I had someone to visit.

"Anna." I said aloud.

"Yes, Colonel?" Anna asked, popping up in the QEC, but life-sized. I was a little taken aback by the size of her holorgaph, but recovered, anyways.

"Where's April Janson?"

"She's in the medical bay with Doctor Aline." Anna replied. "Do you want me to let her know you're coming?"

"If you don't mind, yes." I answered.

"Very well, Colonel." She agreed, blinking out.

I turned back to the door and picked up my glass on the way out. I didn't think anyone would actually care that I was drinking, but I didn't want a ship full of people following my example. I needed them in top form.

So I pocketed the glass and headed down to my office. I washed the glass out and put it in the bottom drawer. I couldn't help but notice that I was running low on brandy, so I made a mental note to pick up something else on the Citadel. Maybe whiskey. I'd had some before that had been blended by humans for turian consumption. Whiskey could be harsh, but it had been delicious.

I turned my thoughts to the conversation I'd soon be having. The plucky human was certainly going to be a handful, but she seemed to know her way around a fire fight well enough.

"-second liver can be biopsied and-" Dr. Aline was saying as I walked in. She and April were hunched over some sort of hologram.

"Doc," April said, cutting her off as gently as she could, "I need to know how to safely work around a krogan's livers. I don't need to learn cutting edge surgery, here."

"Of cour-Ah, Colonel." Dr. Aline said, having turned and spotted me. "Need anything?"

"I was just checking in on our newest member." I told Dr. Aline, "No need to worry."

"The scars on your forehead seem to be a little lighter than usual." Dr. Aline observed, ignoring my words, "You've been doing anything different, lately?"

_Yes._

"No." I lied, "Maybe they're starting to fade or something."

"I doubt it." April added, coming close and peering at the scars on the side of my head from that damn banshee four and a half months ago. "Those are deep, for a head wound. What did it?"

"You know that screeching Reaper we saw?" I asked, "The one that looked a bit like an asari? That's what did it. Caught me in the face and Allison in the side."

"The pilot?" April wondered, eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes." Dr. Aline replied, "The ship came under attack. I, myself, was defended by Krieg, even though he was wounded. Thankfully, Lena came along and helped him out before he got killed."

"Krieg?" April wondered. "Lena?"

"That's right." I muttered, "He isn't here. Krieg is our krogan member. He's on Tuchunka right now, waiting for the Genophage to be cured by Shepard before he sets out with us again. Lena is our quarian member. She was on the mission."

"I didn't see her in all the rush." April admitted, looking the slightest bit embarrassed. "But a quarian? That's going to be a challenge."

"It's not all bad." Dr. Aline replied. "Lena's immune system is not anywhere near as weak as the average quarian's. Though she's not exactly ready to go running around naked, a small machine we built into her suit and her close proximit-"

"Doctor." I cut her off severely. Dr. Aline looked at me, clearly surprised by my tone. "That's for Lena to share, not you."

"Ah yes, sorry." Doctor Aline replied. It was her turn to look embarrassed, this time. "I'm used to everybody knowing."

"What happened to your hand?" April asked. I was pretty sure she was just finding something else to talk about, to avoid an awkward silence between all of us. "Looks like it took a grenade."

"Close enough." I muttered, remembering back to Asteria.

_An ammo cache._ I recalled, bemused, _Of all the things to take out my hand like that..._

"It was an ammo cache that detonated on Asteria."

"You were on Asteria during the Reaper incursion?" She asked, her voice taking a whole new tone.

"Yes." I answered, a little bit annoyed with the ceaseless questions but keeping my patience. "We joined Captain Kheyes and his militia as an augmenting force."

"I was on the frontlines during that attack!" She exclaimed, her green eyes wide with excitement. I flinched a little at the sudden volume of her voice."I heard we got reinforced by a Council team, but that was you guys?"

"Yes." I confirmed. "What were you doing on Asteria?"

"Learning combat medicine from the asari," she replied, "as well as their physiology. It was part of my contract. I assisted in the Hahne-Kedar security force in exchange for pay and the opportunity to broaden my knowledge."

"Then why were you so eager to join with us?" I wondered.

For the first time, April seemed a little bit uncomfortable. She cast around the med-bay with somewhat anxious eyes, but found no escape or different subject to bring up.

"The Reapers don't care who we are, Colonel." She finally answered, her eyes steadily on mine in anger. Whether it was of the Reapers or me pushing answers out of her was impossible for me to discern. "They'll kill each and every one of us, no matter who we are or what we are or whether we're good or bad. Things are bad and if the only way to get revenge is to be part fo the team taking these things down."

"Revenge?" I wondered. The way she had said it indicated that she wasn't talking about revenge for the galaxy. Something was personal.

"I'd...I'd rather drop it, Colonel." She said, finally giving up on the conversation.

"Fair enough." I told her. "Anyways, we're headed to the Citadel, so if there's anything you need feel free to-"

I was interrupted by the door opening, as Henry and Lena walked in. Henry looked a little bit more upbeat, maybe an effect of actually finally taking the fight to the Reapers.

_Revenge._ I thought,_ Just what April wants, apparently._

"Hey Roluck." He said.

"You injured?" I asked.

"No." He told me, "I just wanted to float an idea by you."

"Go for it." I muttered. I noticed Lena's hand curl around Henry's. It was an action that, judging from the startled gasp behind me, did not go unnoticed by April.

"We're going to get something to eat at a restaurant on the Citadel." Lena said, "We're wondering if the team wants to join."

"I don't see any harm in it." I replied with a shrug.

"That goes for you too, rookie." Henry said, "If you're up for it."

"I-uh...yeah." April replied, seeming oddly off-put by Lena and Henry. It wasn't so much surprise as...relief? "Yeah, I'd love to."

I decided it was time for me to extract myself from this conversation.

"When you get a chance, April," I told her, "let Henry have a look at your weapons. He's about as close as we've got to an armorer."

"Got it." She answered with a nod. I swept back out of the door and decided to go up and see Allison. I'd heard from the crew that she'd pulled a few stunts with the ship to keep it from being obliterated. Apparently, the Reapers knew exactly what the Vengeance had done and weren't too shy about picking us out of a fleet.

As I neared the cockpit, Allison was sitting back in her chair, looking completely relaxed. This was quite the turn from her usual grouchiness. The asari crew were looking rather smug, themselves.

"What's going on up here?" I wondered.

"Anna did some calculations and came up with a new program." Allison replied, "Should cut the amount of manual work we have to do between missions by three-quarters."

"Giving you a little more free-time." I muttered mutinously.

"Yeah." She answered.

_I wish I had a little more free time between missions._

"Good job on that last mission, Allison." I said, meaning it. "I heard you did some crazy things to keep this ship intact."

"I always do, when fighting Reapers." She said.

"We're hitting a restaurant on the Citadel when we get there." I told her.

"I heard." She said, looking the slightest bit hesitant. "I...have plans to eat elsewhere."

"Eryc?" I wondered.

"Yeah." She confirmed.

_Those two are getting tight._ I thought to myself, _It was supposed to just be a stress release, for them._

I felt the slightest bit disappointed, though I couldn't exactly pinpoint why.

_What's wrong with me?_ I wondered.

"Sounds like things are getting a little serious."

"I hadn't meant them to." Allison answered, a smile slowly etching across her face, "But..."

"I understand." I told her, lifting my hands to forestall any other arguments. "I just feel like I'm running a dating service instead of a special ops team."

"It's the end of the galaxy, Boss." Allison answered quietly, staring out the window at the blue field around us. "At times like these, you spend what little time you have left with anyone you can care about."

I went silent, having very little to actually say on that subject. Allison seemed to cringe, then looked back at me.

"Sorry, Boss."

"About what?" I wondered, bewildered.

"Never mind." She replied, looking relieved. "So what's with the new girl?"

She was clearly changing the subject, but I let it go. No point in trying to drag information out of her. It'd only make her angry and she wouldn't end up telling me anything, anyways.

"I don't know." I told her.

I didn't want to tell Allison that I really didn't like April. I needed the entirety of the ship to believe that I cared for each and every one of my crew, to maintain unit cohesion. April was lying to my face, though. I couldn't just take that lightly.

_I'll have to make sure she doesn't become a problem._

"She seems...perky, I guess." I hedged.

"No kidding." Allison grumbled, "When she came parading through to introduce herself to me, I was surprised the introduction didn't come with cupcakes and kittens. Still, I guess she'll have her uses. A combat medic never hurts."

"Probably hurt Nesk when she was digging a bullet out of him." I pointed out.

"How's he doing?"

"Fine." I answered. "Doctor Aline gave him some anti-biotics and sent him on his way. He'll be sitting out the next mission, but that's fine."

"Good." She said. "Anyways, we'll be hitting the Citadel in about ten minutes. If you got anything else to do, you should probably do it, now."

"This seems a good time to interrupt." Anna replied from the speakers to my left. "There is one more request for contact. Primarch Victus."

_Victus?_ I wondered, surprised.

I was up in the War Room in an instant, already on the QEC and responding back with my own request to contact. There was about thirty seconds of silence, until Primarch Victus showed up in the QEC.

Primarch Victus was tall, for a turian. He was dressed in the robes of a politician, though I used to see him in armor. He stood tall and proud, but there was a weariness about him. The same weariness that hung around us all.

"Colonel Vether." Victus said. "I can't believe you've made it this far."

"Neither can I." I admitted.

"I still remember when you were just a Sergeant, straight out of that hell with the Rachni."

"I remember when you were just a Colonel." I told him respectfully. "But now, the Primarch?"

"We've come a long way." Victus agreed, looking down at the terminal in front of him. I sighed, knowing the connotations of how we'd come such a long way.

"Look at the price that was paid for it." I muttered. "How's Palaven?"

"Worse." The Primarch grunted. "We're losing Menae and our ships are slowly dwindling. I need krogan boots on the ground soon if we have any chance of holding on until the Crucible is ready."

"We're assisting in that, if Shepard needs us." I assured him.

"I know." He said. "I...We've sacrificed a lot for this alliance."

_Everyone's sacrificed something, except you._

It was true. Even though my brother had been killed, we'd never been that close. Hell, even he sacrificed for this war, just as it was getting off the ground.

"How's your son, Tarquis?" I asked.

"He defused a turian bomb on Tuchunka." Victus replied quietly. "It was a planet killer that Cerberus got a hold of. He...succeeded in his mission."

The tone at the end of that sentence told me everything I needed to know. I remembered meeting Tarquin, once, when I was a Sergeant fresh off the Rachni incident and he was just joining. Victus had been so damn proud of his son. Proud that he was carrying on the family tradition. His broken voice sounded proud, even now.

"I'm sorry, Primarch." I told him. "We've had our own losses over here. It...hasn't been pretty."

"I don't doubt it." Victus said, his tone coming back to 'official'. "I'm not the only father who's lost a son to this war. And I don't plan on seeing it happen to the rest of our species. I'll let you know if you're needed."

"Yes, sir."

"Logging out."

The form of Primarch Victus disappeared, leaving me temporarily in the dark room, alone with the worst enemy imaginable.

My thoughts.

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group_**  
**_Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines_**  
**_April Janson - Human, Contracted_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted_**  
**_Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**

**_Zeta Galactic Assets:_**  
**_Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops_**  
**_Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops_**  
**_Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs_**  
**_Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought_**  
**_Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops_**


	67. Chapter 67

The Refugee Sector was, to put it lightly, the most depressing thing I'd ever seen. Cargo units had been piled around several docking bay reception areas, which had been fused into one enormous area. In each cargo unit, I saw dirty cots and sleeping bags, along with meager possessions.

Some of the refugee areas were divided by species, the most obvious one an area meant specifically for batarians, but I saw some where it didn't matter. It was just a ton of civilians, trying their hardest to get by and survive without care as to who shared the cot to their left and right.

_Does it really take a galaxy-ending event before people start managing to live together?_

It was very dingy and loud, but I was relieved to find that there were very few children. As we'd been on our way up I'd spoken to Avina, the Citadel's VI. Some of the more wealthy and well-fed on the Presidium had been 'persuaded' to take in the children that had flooded the Refugee Sector. From what she said, it had been a rather unpopular move by Commander Bailey.

I looked at Lena and Henry, both of whom were glancing around and looking rather depressed by the sight. At least, Henry was. I could never tell with Lena.

_That damn mask._

We strode out of the elevator and towards the area that was strictly meant for batarians. I could see Barin, now. He was assisting a doctor in holding down a wounded batarian who had shrapnel of some sort in his leg. There was crimson blood coating the table, some of it dried. Clearly, that doctor had already done quite a bit of surgery on that table.

Barin looked up as we entered the batarian section. He wasn't the only one, either. We were drawing hostile looks from every batarian around us. I had to force myself to stop reaching for my pistol. They may have been refugees, but there were a lot of them and they were probably armed.

Barin was the only one here in armor, the rest were clearly civilians. He wore a heavy black armor that looked very new. I'd certainly never seen him wearing it before the war had started, back when he'd just joined the team. Four black eyes lighted in recognition at my approach.

"Colonel!" He exclaimed, a smile gracing his lips. I didn't know if it was genuine or just to put the batarians at east, but it effectively did the latter. I saw the batarians around us relax and I had to wonder just what their reception had been on the Citadel. For that matter, I wondered just how highly in esteem they held Barin.

"At this point, Barin," I told him, holding out my hand, "You could probably just call me 'Roluck'."

"I'm in the middle of something." He pointed out, nodding at the struggling batarian he was holding down. I put my hand down. "I should be free in fifteen minutes or so. Which docking bay are you at?"

"R-Seventeen." I recited from memory. "We were all going to get something to eat before heading out again. Want to join us?"

"I need to make sure my weapons and armor are in working order before we depart." He declined with a shake of his head. "I can't make it. If I find any problems with my weapons, I'll hand them in to Henry. He's still alive, right?"

"Yeah." I replied, "We got all of the human crew members off Earth."

"You're going to be traveling with humans?!" A batarian nearby exclaimed, his lips curled in disgust.

"The same humans who helped me save my brother, yes." Barin answered without pause, glaring down at the man. "If you've got a problem with that, then my assault rifle has a problem with you."

Predictably, the batarian went silent. I had no doubt that Barin could-and would-make good on his threat and get away with it. While I wasn't exactly fond of murder, it did warm my heart a little to see Barin sticking up for the humans on the Vengeance.

"We'll be back on the ship soon enough, Barin." I promised him, "Until then, make yourself at home."

"I will." He answered, before looking back down at the wounded batarian and slamming his uper body back down on the table. I gestured to Lena and Henry. The three of us started towards the elevator again, with me doing my utmost to ignore everyone in the area.

I knew it was a terrible thing to say, but I didn't want to have to look at them. There was nothing I could do for any of these people and the more I stared at them, the more I'd want to help. I simply had more important things to do.

_Like go to a restaurant on the Presidium._

Spirits, I was starting to hate that voice.

"By the way." Henry said, "I invited my mother over, if you don't mind."

"I'm sure she could use the distraction." I agreed as the three of us stepped into the elevator. "How's she doing?"

"Still devastated." Henry replied with a sigh, "But tending to the orphans has given her something else to dwell on, I think."

"Sounds about right." I muttered. "By the way, Krieg wanted me to tell you to 'Quit being such a whiny little pyjack'."

Henry chuckled, shaking his head.

"That sounds about right. How's he doing?"

"He's on Tuchunka." I responded. "From what I understand, Wrex was forced to put an idiot in charge, so he put Krieg in charge of that idiot and Krieg has his hands full."

"Poor guy." Lena muttered, "I bet he wishes he could be blowing away Reapers up there with us."

"Undoubtedly." Henry agreed.

The rest of the ride was spent in comfortable, blissful silence. For the first time ever, I felt blessed to have this elevator. It was a moment of peace and solitude from the crushing reality of the world beyond it. No orders, no military, no guns. Just me and two good friends.

The good feelings ended abruptly when the doors opened onto the Presidium. The Presidium looked that same as always, with the rich and powerful striding around beside artificial lakes and skies. There was an undercurrent of anxiety here, though. Everyone on this station could wish it away all they wanted, hide all the refugees they found, but it didn't take away from the reality.

The reality was that even though the Citadel was the most well-protected and powerful place in the galaxy, homeworlds were burning. Not little colony worlds here and there, but the most heavily populated and defended worlds in the galaxy. Soon, this war would be on their doorstep. I was sure that Commander Bailey had informed everyone that the Reapers would be here soon.

_And it seems like they all know it._ I realized, almost able to taste the tense emotions in the air.

Without a word, Lena and Henry followed me off of the elevator and hung a left. It was a quick little jaunt to the restaurant, the same place I'd met up with Henry and Lena at after our two-year hiatus. When we entered, I looked around to see some of my crew seated in a corner, with a bunch of tables shoved together so they could keep their backs against the wall in the booths.

It was paranoia, but it was well justified.

There were very few people here, most of them families. Nesk and Errahe were at the first table, with Enua and April at the second. Henry's mother was sitting on a corner, seated comfortably next to Allison and Dr. Aline. Ilna and her children sat at a third table.

I uncomfortably settled in at a nearby table, just to make sure they were covered, while Henry's mom stood to meet him.

Mary Gerrard was a middle-aged woman, about sixty years old. She had shoulder length black hair that seemed to be going a little grey in places. Light blue eyes shone when they landed on Henry and a very wide smile lit onto her face.

"Oh, it's good to see you, dear." Henry's mother said, throwing her arms around Henry. To my surprise, nobody snickered at the display.

_I guess we all realize how important family and friends are at a time like this._

I looked over to Ilna, who was simply talking to her kids quietly, grinning from ear to ear. I sighed as Henry's mother welcomed Lena, too. She still seemed slightly off-put by the quarian woman. If I remembered correctly, Mary Gerrard was from a colony, which automatically made anyone slightly suspicious of other species from the lack of interaction.

I looked around the restaurant as the conversations truly began. It seemed as though even the restaurant staff looked slightly off.

"-even had to sit in on the Shepards' trial." Henry was saying as I tuned back in to what was going on at the table.

"How was that?" Enua grunted, a question we could all probably answer.

"A complete goddamn sham." Henry replied, shaking his head bitterly. His mother shot him a glare, annoyed with his language. "Sorry, mom. I got called up there to testify about the Reapers and such. The courts believed in the Reaper threats, but the judge said that the two of them 'should've found another alternative'. I doubt that assho-guy has ever seen a second of combat."

"They got sent to prison?" I wondered from my table.

_Even after everything she's done and with the existence of the Reapers proven,_ I mused, _they still managed to lock her away._

Henry threw me a weird look, perhaps wondering why I was sitting over at my own table. Still, he answered.

"Well," Henry said, looking the slightest bit uncomfortable. "There's the world only class three maximum security prison in Nairobi, completely impregnable and impossible to escape, even for someone like the Shepards. It would've been impossible for them to get out of there when the Reapers landed and they would've been an easy target. This entire war would be much more difficult without them."

"How did they escape?" Lena wondered, her eyes wide behind the mask.

Henry glanced at his mother uncomfortably, who had fixed him with a rather stern gaze. Ilna decided to answer, sparing him whatever indignity he was about to face.

"A group of terrorists hijacked their transport and incapacitated the guards." Ilna replied with a smile, brushing a lock of blond hair over her ear, "No casualties on either side."

"That's good to hear." I answered, not sure what all the fuss was about.

_Wait a minute._

"Weren't you guys picked up in Africa?" April asked, stealing the question away from me.

"Yes, we were." Henry answered, the tone indicating that he was finished discussing the topic.

_Remind him that I owe him quite a few drinks, sometimes. On me._ I remembered Shepard saying. _I guess I know why they owe him, now._

"Are we all ready to order?" A turian server asked.

We went around the tables, ordering whatever we wanted. I noticed that the server didn't make a fuss over Nesk or Lena. Clearly, the restaurant was well aware of who we were. Besides, I doubted that they had the luxury of turning away paying customers, as sparse as the customers were here.

As the server went away, talk turned to various subjects as the members of my team began telling stories amongst each other. I smiled thinly as I checked my omni-tool, finding no messages on there. I realized with distinct displeasure that I was going to have to wait this out in silence until my food came.

And wait it out I did, smiling at my team as they socialized, glad to have a moment to rest before we threw ourselves at the war again.

Somebody sat at the table to my right. I glanced at him.

_Armed, looks somewhat in shape._ I observed within a moment. The same as those patrons that attacked us when we went to Chora's Den. Which means...

_Indoctrinated._

I glanced around and found that, slowly, we'd been surrounded by armed men and women. I'd been distracted and everyone had been talking.

_A false sense of safety._ I realized. I shook the thoughts away and stared down Henry. He glanced at me and, realizing I was trying to get his attention, cocked his head at me. I jerked my head towards the side and I watched him peer around. He looked back at me and gave a nod.

I moved first and heard Henry following along behind me. My hand dropped to my pistol and I pulled it, taking the safety off as I stood. I spun and brought the barrel of the pistol down towards a turian seated nearby.

The customers and workers screamed as I heard the rest of the team a second behind us, drawing weapons and standing.

The turian's reaction wasn't what I expected. He immediately raised his hands in surrender, as did the people around him. I glanced back to see everyone behind me (Minus Henry's mother and the kids) with guns out and trained on the nearest person.

"C-Sec!" The turian in front of me yelled. I glanced around to see the other C-Sec officers doing the same thing as the turian in front of me.

Surprised, I lowered the Paladin, feeling an immediate pang of embarrassment.

"Sorry." I regretfully muttered. "Why are you surrounding us?"

"After your last visit to the Citadel," The turian replied, "We didn't want there to be another shootout. You guys are too important to this war to be getting shot to death in a restaurant."

"I...I see." I muttered, both gratified and angry about the 'subtle' security arrangements. "We don't need protection."

"Not your decision, Colonel." The turian replied with what I detected as the utmost of delicacy, "Orders came down from the Council."

I just sighed, then looked at my team, who'd lowered their weapons.

"Might as well go back to eating, guys."

They did, taking a seat and continuing their conversations. I looked at the turian, torn between gratitude and anger.

"Thanks." I finally said.

I took a seat myself, deciding that I'd bring the issue up with the Council on a later date. These C-Sec officers were just doing their jobs.

The food came pretty quickly, probably due to the lack of customers. I felt a little left out, but there wasn't really room at the table. Lena and Henry were talking very animatedly with Mary Gerrard, while Enua and Dr. Aline kept shooting each other furtive looks over the table. Ilna spent the whole meal catching up with her children on what she'd missed since being on Earth.

April and Urre were talking quietly, almost conspiratorially. When I looked up from my meal and found them shooting glances my way, I scowled inwardly. Those two were a constant handful.

Nesk, as always, seemed to be ignoring absolutely everybody as he ate what looked way too much like a varren.

I quietly continued with my meal as everybody carried on. When everybody was finished and had paid, I considered what to do next. We had a mission coming down from the top, from what I heard, but I still had time.

"Maybe I'll get a drink." I muttered to myself as Henry, Lena and his mother got up and headed off in their own direction. One by one, I watched the team walk away (Along with a number of the C-Sec officers) until only I remained. I looked at a pair of human C-Sec officers in a corner, who were watching me rather pointedly.

"I'm going to get a few drinks." I informed them, "Since I'm sure you'll be following me discreetly, I'm headed to Chora's Den."

If they were annoyed that I'd chosen the same exact bar we'd been ambushed at last time on the Citadel, they made no sign of it. They merely nodded, looking faintly tired.

_Only a couple, then._ I promised myself. _These two need some sleep. Or at the very least, need to be doing something more important._

A long walk and a broken promise later, I found myself working on my fourth drink of turian whisky.

_What am I doing here?_

It was a thought that had wandered through my head pretty much every time I'd been at Chora's Den, but I had no answer for it. As usual.

I sighed and took another sip, looking around the bar. It was the same desperation and subtle worry that I saw everywhere in the galaxy. I put the drink down, experiencing that familiar tingling starting to grow. Had I not been in a crowded bar, I would've moaned happily.

"Excuse me?" A soft female voice said behind me. I turned to find a stunning human woman in a very revealing outfit looking at me, her blue eyes curious and tense. In fact, her entire body radiated anxiety and tension.

"Yes?"

"Are you Colonel Vether?" She asked.

"Yes, I am." I told her, a little bit annoyed. For several reasons, strippers picked out military types for business. Military members were easy money and always had a chain of command that the club could contact to take care of any disciplinary or fiscal issues. "Sorry, not inter-"

"No, it's not like that." She said instantly, holding up her hands and cutting me off, "I know who you are, I saw the GNN special on you and your team."

"Ah." I answered, nonplussed.

"I just...I have a brother in the Fifth Fleet." She continued, glancing over her shoulder nervously. "I know your group is quite important in this war. That you're one of the few that are doing anything really important in this war."

"We try." I confirmed. I turned back to my drink. I wasn't ignoring her, just thinking. I felt a little guilty and more than a little shy around the subject. "We do what we can."

"I just want to thank you." She told me simply. "And wish you 'good luck' on your missions. I'm praying for you and those like you."

She looked back to the bouncers, who seemed to have noticed her absence and were approaching her. I fumbled around in my pocket and came out with a twenty-credit chit. About four times of what a dancer could expect after a lapdance. I handed it to her and she looked up at me, looking shocked.

"You don't have t-"

"I've got plenty of money." I told her, "Thank you for the words."

She nodded, a smile on her face. As I turned back to my drink, she turned back to her table. I looked up at the screen over the bar when I heard a familiar voice talking.

Henry was on the GNN channel, the armory of the Vengeance behind him. He wasn't seated, but standing over his weapon's bench. I could see a few crewmembers in the background, Eryc included. Henry looked tired on the camera, but he wore a weary smile, regardless.

"Captain Henry Gerrard." Urre said. "Alliance Marines and XO of STT Zeta."

"Yeah." He replied, raising an eyebrow and looking very uncomfortable as he glanced around the shuttle bay, "That's me."

"We've recently come back from an operation out on a Hahne-Kedar station, where STT Zeta managed to procure an army of mechs donated by the company to the war effort." Urre reported, "Can you speak to that?"

"Yes I can." Henry replied, "I can't get into great detail, but George Sanders did a huge favor for us and for the entire galaxy. More companies should be responsible and help out. This war isn't just going to be won by soldiers like us. Everybody needs to pitch in and help out or everyone will die, in the end."

"Everyone?" Urre wondered.

_I suppose he's just trying to relay the gravity of this war._

"Yes." Henry replied, his gaze getting a little colder as he looked directly into the camera. "Every man, woman and child is a participant whether they like it or not. This war will find everyone at one point or another and it will be lost if we cannot get along for five minutes and start letting grudges and hatred die."

"To that end," Urre continued, "I understand that you and Admiral Lena'Zuril are...I guess you use the word 'engaged'."

"She calls it 'bondmate'." Henry agreed, nodding. "And we are."

I heard some muttering around the bar as the patrons watched.

"A human and a quarian." I heard a salarian next to me mutter, "What's this galaxy coming to?"

I felt anger. This was exactly the kind of thing Henry was referring to.

"The galaxy is fighting for its very existence." I growled, attracting his attention. "My Executive Officer is a better man than you'll ever be."

The salarian's eyes widened as he noted the use of 'my' in the sentence.

"I-I-"

"Shut the fuck up." I grumbled, turning away and looking back up to the screen.

"-easons of diplomacy?" I heard Urre asking, "Or do you two actually love each other?"

"The second." Henry confirmed, "I met her almost three years ago. She was a Lieutenant of the Migrant Fleet Marines and I was a Sergeant who was new to STT Zeta."

"Well that's too bad." Urre said, "Because you've got quite a lot of fan mail from the females of your species on the STT Extranet site. Both you and Corporal Flynt have some...followers."

Henry grinned and even I felt myself smiling slightly.

"Well," Henry hedged, sounding very amused, "Admiral Lena'Zuril single-handedly beat thirty of her own Marines in a simulated battle to become an Admiral. Ladies, if you want to tangle with her, be my guest. I'm sure she'd welcome the competition."

Urre actually laughed at this and I even heard a couple of the patrons chuckle. For a man that hated being in any sort of spotlight, Henry could be quite amusing and charming.

"What do quarians look like under the suits?" Urre asked.

I noted that the bar got quiet and everyone seemed to be eagerly anticipating the answer to this question.

"Nice try." Henry said with a laugh, "Ask her yourself."

"I had to give it a shot." Urre conceded. "Last question. There have been a lot of people who are understandably frustrated with the lack of any victories against the Reapers. STT Zeta and Commander Shepard are both charged with a great burden in this war. What can you say about the efforts being made?"

"I won't answer that question." Henry answered immediately, drawing groans from the crowd around me. I looked around to find that the entirety of Chora's Den had been packed with people while I'd been watching. Most were staring at the screens, looking enraptured.

"What I will say is this:" Henry continued, "This is not like any fight we've ever fought in any of our histories. I was on Earth when the attack came. We're not going to be able to beat the Reapers conventionally. A time will come for a full offensive, but the cruel and unfortunate truth is that we need time."

"But-" Urre started, but he was cut off immediately by Henry, who clearly wasn't finished.

"We haven't given up on the galaxy, but we can't just fly into battle immediately." Henry said, staring the camera down. "We'll all be killed if we do that. Trust me, none of us are happy with holding back while billions die. If we strike too soon, we will lose everything and everyone will die."

"So what do you suggest?"

"I once again suggest that everyone help how they can." Henry repeated. "We don't just need people who can shoot guns. Doctors, businessmen, whatever. If you think you can help, you shoud help. Because your life depends on it."

"Well said, Captain." Urre agreed. "This was my interview with Captain Henry Gerrard, the Executive Officer of STT Zeta. Following in thirty minutes will be my footage of the Hahne-Kedar miss-"

I turned from the monitor, no longer interested. The footage was generally just video of us blowing away Reaper forces, with no actual indication of what we were after. That was all people needed to see, though.

_They just need to know that we're still in this, putting bullets in heads._

That was when my omni-tool informed me I had a new message. I glanced over at the two C-Sec officers, who were warding off a rather persistent stripper, themselves. I looked down at my omni-tool and after inputting the decryption key for the contents, read the message.

_Colonel Roluck Vether,  
There has been a confirmed sighting of remnants of the Collectors on a moon orbiting Thessia, called Irrile. They seem to be building some sort of instillation there. Evidence suggests that they will be building some sort of weapon to accelerate the pace of the war on Thessia. This is also the launching point for those Oculus craft outlined in Shepard's report from her fight with the Collectors._

_Your mission is twofold, right now. We need you to slip in and shut this place down before it even gets started. There may also be a way to seize control of the Oculus craft and bring some of them to the fleet. Since the Asari fleets are still engaging the Reapers, you should have a pretty easy time getting in and out._

_One last note, we've gotten reports that one of our Spectres have been indoctrinated. He's a turian, by the name of Major Varyss Enni. He used to be Blackwatch and I'm sure Enua at least knows of him. He is a highly skilled close quarters combatant and very adapt at mid-range weapons and covert operations. I've noted in your reports that there are mentions of a higher intelligence commanding Reaper ground forces at your location. I doubt it is the same person, but keep alert.  
- Councilor Sparatus_

I sighed and buried my face in my palms.

_Another enemy._ I thought to myself, extremely displeased at the prospect of fighting an indoctrinated Spectre.

I looked down at my drink and grunted in exasperation. We had a new target and a new enemy. I guessed that, in this war, good news would always come with bad news attached. In fact, good news typically came with a veritable mountain of bad news attached. A hazard, when an extermination engulfed the entire galaxy.

I grabbed the half-empty drink and threw the rest back. It produced a burning sensation all the way down to my stomach as I shuddered a little from the strength of the whisky. I looked back at the two C-Sec officers, who saw me looking at them and glanced back at me.

"Ready to go home, guys?"

I've noticed a lot of chapters with errors (not spelling, mostly unfinished sentences, punctuation or little grammar issues) in them and I'd like to remind everyone that I'm not writing this with Word or any program with spellcheck or grammar check, so I'm having difficulty spotting them without the green/red wavy lines. So, sorry about all those. However, once the story is finished, I plan on going back and 're-mastering' all the chapters.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group**_  
_**First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army**_  
_**Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**April Janson - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_


	68. Chapter 68

I stood in the cockpit with Allison and Enua at my side. I'd briefed the rest of Zeta on what the mission would be like. Irrile had plenty of oxygen to go around, along with reasonable gravity, so we could walk the surface without helmets. I'd also done some studying up on the Collectors, from Shepard's reports.

We'd also get a glimpse at how the asari were holding up. I was sure they were holding up just as well as everyone else (Which meant they were being annihilated), but I had to see it firsthand.

The plan was to have one large assault team, one smaller assault team and a tech team. The tech team consisted of Lena and Ilna. I would be leading April and Barin. Everyone else would be with Henry. Our mission was simple. The two small teams would hold back until the Assault One (Henry's team and Urre) began the engagement. Assault Two (My team) would head on over to whatever kept the instillation running and blow it up. During all that, Tech One (Lena's team) would infiltrate into their control center for the Oculus craft and hijack as many as they could before the instillation blew.

I had this operation timed for thirty minutes. It would be short enough to keep the Reapers from breaking off their engagement and getting to us in time. all the while being long enough to ensure that we could complete our objectives past reasonable interference. The Third Fleet would jump in with ten minutes left to go and pick up any Oculus craft we could grab.

After this, I heard we were headed to a batarian colony, then we'd see if Shepard needed assistance on Tuchunka.

"Ready?" Allison asked quietly.

"I don't think anyone could be ready for this." Enyra, her co-pilot, said. I had told the asari crew that they were free to leave for this. I didn't want to force them to see their planet in ruins.

"We're not going to be anymore ready." I told Allison, as the blue field began to recede.

"Look at the silver lining." Enua replied, eying the space in front of the shield in preparation, "The Reapers aren't doing to Thessia what they've done to Earth and Palaven. They merely intend to keep the asari pinned down until they be-"

Her words were cut off when we arrived at the little brown moon. The surrounding space was quiet, almost serene.

Until we all looked at Thessia.

Thessia wasn't as bad as Earth or Palaven, but it was disturbing to see small sections of the most advanced planet in the galaxy burning. Entire sections of the blue and green planet were covered in giant orange blazes. The planet looked a little darker than usual, as well, with clouds and smoke covering the atmosphere.

The asari fleet was in shambles, with a small and dedicated core of maybe a hundred ships maneuvering through an incredible amount of debris as they tried to fend off four Reapers. I winced at the sight. I had known, obviously, that the Reapers would decimate Thessia. To see our strongest world in full, though, taken down so easily...it was madness.

"Goddess." Enyra whispered.

"Fuck me." Enua agreed with a nod.

"This is Admiral Lehra, Thessia Security Fleet." A tense female voice sounded on our comms system. "Our ship has you flagged as Council. You here for scouting and bringing in reinforcements?"

I sighed, bowing my head as I felt frustration running through me. I wanted nothing more than to ride in here with a fleet behind me. I wanted to take back Thessia, Earth and Palaven personally.

_You'll get the chance, eventually._ I assured myself.

"There are no reinforcements, Admiral." I informed her. "This is Colonel Vether from STT Zeta, we're running an op on Irrile to take out the Collectors there. Then we're gone."

"GONE?!" The Admiral yelled, sounding completely incensed, "HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF OUR PEOPLE ARE DEAD, ALREADY! IN ONE DAY!"

"Adm-" I started, but she wasn't having any of it.

"We've been fighting six Reapers with three hundred ships." She seemed to cry, "We've destroyed two Reapers. They've destroyed two hundred ships. WHY THE HELL AREN'T WE GETTING HELP!?"

I looked at Enua as the question hung in the cockpit.

"Light her up, boss." Enua advised with a small nod. I looked into her blue eyes and realized that I needed to make this asari realized exactly how serious things were.

"Hundreds of thousands of your people are dead?" I asked her, "Billions are dead on Earth and millions are dead on Palaven. Palaven's fleet has encountered heavy losses as we've backed up to our moon, Menae, just to stall a few Reapers. All of Earth's fleets were wiped out on the way in and no fleets protect it, now."

"THAT DOESN'T EXCUSE COWARDI-"

I felt a sudden surge of rage at her words.

_Who is she to judge?! What the hell has she done to deserve taking that tone with me?!_

"These Reapers that are attacking Thessia are a third of what's attacking Palaven!" I interrupted her, my tone sounding cold even to myself, "Which is half of what's attacking Earth. Two entire Salarian fleets were whittled into nothing while delaying the Reaper advance on Sur'Kesh. You got attacked last, because the asari didn't want to help out, leaving the mess for everyone else to clean up. This crew has been fighting for the last three years and my entire team has done more for this war than your entire three hundred ships, so don't you DARE raise your voice at me!"

My words hung in the silent cockpit as the entire shocked nav crew (And Enua) stared at me.

"Jesus, Boss." Allison muttered, "Enua said 'light her up', not 'crush her soul'."

I ignored her, staring at the comm board and waiting for an answer.

"We've had no direction from anyone." Admiral Lehra's small voice finally admitted, sounding broken and defeated, "Most of the Matriarchs are dead and the ones who aren't are out of our reach. Councilor Tevos just told us to keep fighting, but I don't think she even knows what to do. I'm my own authority, right now. What...what should we do?"

"Retreat." I told her quietly.

"And leave the-"

"The four Reapers to attack your planet and kill tens of thousands of people, yes." I finished for her. "It's a far better fate than Palaven or Earth. And we will be coming back for Thessia, make no mistake."

"We can't just leave our people." Admiral Lehra said, "Without hope, they'll-"

"They'll survive for a while." I promised her, "Like every other world is having to."

"It's not right."

"No." I told her, "No it's not."

There was a long silence, then she spoke again.

"If Councilor Tevos finds out..."

"Tell her to talk to me." I replied. "Pull your fleet out. Council Authority."

"I...I will." She said, her voice laden with misery. "Do you need anything of us?"

"No." I assured her quietly, "The Reapers shouldn't come knocking within at least a half hour. Just enough time for us to do what we came here to do."

"Affirmative." She said, "I'll give the word."

I watched as the fleet began to pull back towards Thessia, drawing the Reapers closer as some of them began to jump out.

"Are you okay, Boss?" Allison asked from below me. I looked down at her and then at all of the crew. They were all looking at me in concern.

"I'm alright." I muttered. "Enua, we better start down towards the shuttle bay. Henry's team will be dropping off in the Mako, soon."

She nodded and silently followed me to the elevator. When we got on and the door closed, Enua looked over at me.

"You know," she said, her tone very reproachful, "That was pretty damn disrespectful. Those are still my people down there."

"And I'm trying to save those people." I told her immediately, feeling a scowl creeping onto my face. I calmed myself down, remembering that this woman probably could kill me if she felt inclined to. I sighed and looked down at my false hand, flexing it and feeling repulsed at the sight. As always. "If I have to step out of line and be offensive and invite hatred towards myself, I'll do it to save everyone."

A long silence, then:

"I understand." Enua agreed quietly. "You'd make a good Spectre, Roluck."

"Thanks." I muttered, not sure if I was being complimented or insulted. "Speaking of which, tell me about this Varrys Enni."

"He's a very good Spectre." Enua answered. "We've...met...a couple times before. On opposing missions, both times. Both times, we ended up about even, if that was something that could be measured."

"Will he cause problems?" I wondered.

"Absolutely." She confirmed. "Though I seriously doubt we'll see him here. This is a pretty random move, in the whole scheme of things."

"Well," I hedged, "We're all here, we can take him."

"Negative." Enua replied as the elevator began to slow. I looked at her, surprised. She gave me a serious stare, her deep blue gaze on mine. "He's gotten in my way twice before. He's mine, Boss."

"If the opportunity arises, he's all yours." I partially agreed. "But if he's about to kill our people or jeopardize a mission, he needs to go down. Regardless of who takes the shot."

"Fair enough." She conceded as the door opened. The rest of the crew was there, minus Nesk. He was sitting this one out while he recovered from his injury.

Most of the crew had climbed into or onto the Mako. My mandibles edged together in a frown when I noticed Risha'Zun waiting nearby. As Enua approached the Mako, I walked over to her.

"We don't need you on this one, Risha'Zun." I told her. She directed her gaze at me, her eyes widening in surprise. "The techs on this op will be working through some thick resistance. You're good with a pistol when it comes to defending the ship, but this is a whole other matter."

"We could use the help." Lena hedged, "I'm sure she'll be fi-"

I felt another flare of anger, directed at Lena this time.

"Dammit, Lena, I said no!" I yelled, drawing the attention of everyone in the shuttle bay. I didn't care.

_Things are just goddamn perfect for them._ I thought viciously, _They have hope, as well as somebody or something they fight for. I have nothing but sheer stubbornness. I am the most clearheaded person on this ship and they should not be questioning me at every turn._

I once again forced myself to calm down, reminding myself that Lena was one of the best friends I had in this galaxy. She didn't seem either angry or apologetic. In fact, she seemed to look more curious than anything else. There was also another emotion there that I couldn't pinpoint.

"Lena." I said, dropping my volume. "Just...please don't fight me on this."

There was a stretch of silence as she crossed her arms and leaned up against the Kodiak.

"Risha'Zun," She finally ordered, "Get back up to engineering with your team."

"Y-Yes, ma'am." Risha'Zun replied, scurrying away towards the elevator. I nodded thankfully to Lena, already embarrassed as I turned to the rest of the staring group.

"Remember." I told them, not even acknowledging what had just happened, "Assault One, you are not going on the offensive. Simply hold off and kill as many Collectors as you can, then Assault Two and Tech One will group up and flank the main forces. Then we'll just retreat and leave them with a going-away gift."

"Got it." Henry said, the faintest traces of anger on his face as he looked at me. I didn't have to guess why. I'd just yelled at the woman he was engaged to for no other reason than that I was having a bad day.

"Get ready to go, Assault One." Allison's voice intruded over the shuttle bay. I gave Henry a nod as everyone standing on the Mako began to grab on to whatever they could to hang on. The shuttle bay door opened as I started towards the Kodiak. I had Assault Two stay in the back, while Tech One was up front.

As Lia'Vael took over the controls, I could almost sense how much Lena wanted to yell at me or scold me. Whichever she was planning on doing. I ignored the vague hostility she was projecting and looked at April.

"You ready for this?" I asked.

"I've never fought Collectors before." She answered. She looked pensive, her green eyes thoughtful. Then she shrugged. "I suppose they die just like everyone else."

"That's a good way of looking at it." I agreed.

As the Mako departed, our side of the shuttle bay opened. I watched as Lena quietly piloted the craft down to the brown dirt of the moon. From what I'd heard, the asari had been attempting to create some sort of project here to grow plants and other life. They'd built an atmosphere with terraforming projects after a hundred years and were just getting ready to colonize the world when the Reapers arrived.

I scratched at the scarring on my cheek as the Kodiak came to a stop. The facility ahead was pretty large, but consisted more of actual rooms than long sprawling hallways. Strangely enough, the entire structure seemed...organic. It was a reddish-brown color that I hadn't come to associate with buildings. I couldn't spot any batteries or other defenses, so I supposed we were in the clear.

I could see the Mako nearby, with the entire team on it and waiting.

"Assault One, begin your advance." I ordered.

Henry and his team hopped down from the Mako and led the entire group to the front door of the facility.

"Nothing yet." Henry muttered over my speaker. "But the first room has passageways that might lead out to your objectives. We'll head to the next room and set up 360 degree security. It's not ideal, but we should be able to hold."

"Got it." I replied, "We're moving."

I gestured to Lena and April. We all piled out of the craft. I felt the familiar adrenaline as we rushed towards the entrance and the shuttle took off behind us. I opened the door to find us all behind a group of enemies. There were three doors on the sides and one in front of us. I was guessing that Assault One had gone through the door parallel to the entrance.

The Collectors were, for a lack of better word, creepy. They were tall and bipedal, with the first word coming to mind being 'insects'. Four glowing eyes per Collector was focused on the door ahead of them as they all seemed to prepare for a fight. Chitinous brown armor covered them and I could see the fluttering of insect wings on their backs.

The entire room looked strange. The floor was lumpy and brown, the same as the walls and ceiling. Columns sparsely dotted the large room, appearing randomly placed instead of being structurally supporting. There was metal present in the doors and around the room, but it seemed to be covered by that brown layer of organic...stuff.

Fortunately, that organic stuff kept our movements quiet as we crept forward. I counted about sixteen Collectors, all armed with regular weapons. I wasn't about to let them get behind Assault One before they were ready.

I moved towards a column and pulled on a frag grenade. I noticed Lena do the same, next to me. Everyone else had their weapons out and were headed for cover. I primed the grenade and threw it towards a cluster of Collector troopers. The grenade hit the ground with a muffled thump as Lena threw her grenade out from behind some sort of waist-high construct.

I engaged the thrusters on my armor and was thrown sideways. Unfortunately, I overshot the column and had to throw myself backwards as the grenades detonated with a blast that shook the room. Shrapnel flew through the area I'd occupied moments before and I heard insectoid cries of alarm. I glanced around the column to find that the grenades had taken six of them down, total. I raised the Harrier and edged around the column as the Collectors began to fire at Lena and I.

This presented an opportunity for the other three, who had gone completely unnoticed. Barin popped out from behind a small structure and opened fire with his Mattock. The thick shells of the Collectors were softening the blows, but the rounds were still penetrating. April's Mattock and the thick boom of Ilna's Widow joined the fray, dropping another four Collectors.

This had the fortunate side effect of dividing their attention. I decided to take advantage of their confusion. I leaned out from behind the column and spray a barrage of rounds at a Collector trooper before he could fire at me. The rounds penetrated the relatively light armor at its chest and stitched a neat row of bullet holes in the Collector. It fell to the ground with a groan and I retreated back behind the column as rounds started coming my way.

I saw a Collector who was about to edge around Lena's cover while she was pinned down. I opened my mouth to yell and warn her, but she surprised the Collector by diving towards it, knocking it down. She threw herself to the side and behind another piece of cover. As the Collector made to rise, the quarian woman raised her Crusader shotgun and fired, the rounds tearing the insectoid enemy nearly in half at the stomach.

The remaining Collectors were quickly mopped up by the other three as I reloaded my rifle.

"That sounded nasty." Henry remarked over my comms unit.

"Yeah." I replied, "There were sixteen of them headed towards your rear. We're going to split off, now."

"Good luck." He answered.

"Which one do you want?" I asked Lena, not bothering to point out that neither of us knew where the passageways would take us.

"Over there." She said, pointing to one of the two doors on the left. I nodded and looked to the door on the right.

"Good luck." I told her, before leading my team towards the door. We stacked up outside it as Lena and Ilna slipped through the door across the room. I heard the muffled sound of gunfire from Henry's position.

I opened the door and found myself staring into a room with some sort of pods littering the floor.

_Are those for cryo-sleep?_

The room was clear, not much to my surprise. If there had been Collectors here, they would've come running in when they heard us engaging the group in the first room. So I merely shrugged and urged my team forward with me.

We crossed the room slowly, weapons at the ready, as the room narrowed to a hallway. We crowded in and walked the unoccupied hallway until we came to yet another entrance at the end. Beyond the entrance was something big and very nasty-looking.

It was a metallic construct that floated in the air, long legs dangling at its sides. Four gigantic glowing eyes peered around the room and at the other two Collectors standing around it. There were what looked like heads growing out of the 'chest' of the floating abomination and I couldn't help but notice that even its 'head' was shaped exactly like a Collector's.

I knew it was a Praetorian, one of the Collectors outlined in Shepard's reports. I did know that I would be dealing with the troops around it first. No matter how powerful it was, I didn't want to fight it while dodging fire from the troopers. They'd go down quick and easy.

Barin and April looked at me in askance.

"Troopers first." I told them, "Then we'll figure out how to deal with whatever that damn thing is."

"Got it." Barin muttered. I raised my rifle as I crept forward, finding the trooper on the left. I put my hand up and directed the other two to the trooper on the right. I found an empty ammo crate nearby that was big enough for me to kneel behind. I waited until the other two took cover behind a metallic spike jutting from the floor.

I fired a string of rounds into the Collector. Its body began to jerk and it collapsed in a heap on the ground. I heard a loud clashing sound as the thing turned to me and the sound of two rifles as Barin and April opened fire on the other trooper.

There was a sudden blossom of blue energy and the damn thing fired a beam at me. I yelled in alarm and jumped away from my cover right before it was sawed in half. I began to run as the second trooper fell and the other two turned their fire to the Praetorian.

It fired another laser at me and I rolled to the side. This time, though, the laser kept up. Unable to get up without being torn in two, I activated the boosters and shot to the side on my back, enabling me to roll backwards onto my feet. I continued running, then dove behind a pillar just as the beam stopped. I turned around the pillar to find the Praetorian suddenly right in front of me. I yelled in alarm as one of its arms came across and swiped at me.

I felt the breath driven from my body as I staggered back. I raised my weapon and fired. It was blind firing, but the thing was so close that I didn't exactly need to aim. It suddenly reared up into the air and started to shimmer.

I felt pain as I moved to the side and back around the pillar. Rounds still pinged off it as I saw a shockwave envelop the ground I'd been standing on. I grunted as I moved around the pillar and I heard the Praetorian thrust itself back into the air.

I swung around the pillar and unloaded into its face point-blank as April and Barin unloaded into it. After a full clip, the Praetorian finally emitted a mechanical shriek and sunk to the ground, dead.

"Are you alright, Roluck?" Barin asked, looking concerned as he approached. April was prodding at the dead

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied, feeling pain in my stomach. It was one of the more lightly-armored parts of my body in that the flesh there was tender instead of scaly. I turned away from both of them and pressed my jaws together tightly to help me focus my attention elsewhere.

I glanced down briefly to find a small amount of cobalt-colored blood leaking between the cracks of my dented-inwards abdominal piece. The only luck I had was that the color of the armor made the blood hard to spot.

"Shit." I muttered to myself. I brought up my channel as I started forward. "Henry, Lena, how are you doing?"

"We had to double back." Lena reported, her voice quiet, "That hallway was a dead end. We're getting resistance, but nothing too heavy. We'll let you know if we find the control center."

"We're holding." Henry reported. "Heavy assaults on our front. We've seen some heavy units, but nothing we haven't been able to take down."

"Got it." I replied. "Let me know if anything changes."

I dropped the channel and looked ahead. There was another room that connected from here in the corner, though it wasn't as spacious. The room had all kinds off wires and pipes running through it and into a door on the right. I was willing to bet that it led to either the power source for this place or something of the sort.

There were six troopers here, thankfully nothing bigger. Unfortunately, the troopers had heard the noise from the last room and twenty four eyes turned to meet ours'. They began to raise their rifles and I staggered behind a corner as beams and bullets started to sweep past. I checked my grenades and found I had two more. I planned to save one for the rendezvous with Assault One, which meant I could spare one for this room.

I picked the grenade off my armor and primed it. I threw it as best as I could, with my wound. The twisting motion caused a flare of agony as I let go, nearly dropping me to the ground. I stayed my feet and managed not to cry out as I heard the soft sound of the grenade hitting the ground. There was an explosion that caused me to stumble momentarily. Barin pushed himself to the same corner, edging me out of the way. I let him, thankful for a moment's rest as he popped out around the corner, firing a few shots with his Mattock before leaning back behind the corner.

As soon as the Collectors started to fire at the corner, April peeked up from her cover behind a low wall of that organic matter and fired. I heard the dying gasp of a Collector and Barin glanced out from the corner.

"Clear." He told me, giving me a nod.

"We've found the control station, Roluck." Lena reported. "We have a couple hundred Oculator craft in here that we're trying to override. We'll let you know how it goes."

"Good." I replied as I walked out from behind the corner and started towards the door. "Keep me pos-"

My words were cut off as another flare of pain hit me. This time, without the adrenaline to curb it, the pain was impossible to hide. I grunted and covered the wound with my hand as I stumbled, barely managing to catch myself on a wall.

"Colonel!" April yelled, rushing towards me. I held a staying hand out to her, but she ignored it completely as she stepped around the hand and removed the hand over my stomach. She analyzed the wound, her green eyes critical.

"What's wrong." Henry asked over my comms unit.

"No-nothing." I lied, a gasp betraying my words.

"If you call near-disembowlment by one of those floating things 'nothing', then sure." April muttered.

"Ah yeah." Henry replied, "We had one of those things. Best to give them a wide berth."

"Thanks for the heads up." I grumbled.

"Sit." April commanded, her usually upbeat tone surprisingly authoritative. I did as asked, seeing as she knew more combat medicine than Eryc knew about hand-to-hand combat. "Barin, will you be able to carry on?"

"I've got the explosives and that looks like the room over there." Barin said, nodding at the door. The batarian moved towards the door, then stopped and looked at us. "If I need help, I'll yell."

"You need to get ready." April told me, looking at me as she pulled a small canister out of one of the packs on her thigh. Barin exited the room as she continued. "This is really going to hurt. Lie down."

I did so and almost panicked when she curled her fingers around the edges of my chest plate and disengaged it. I wasn't stupid, the dent in my abdominal armor had single-handedly kept my insides from becoming my outsides.

I had to trust that she knew what she was doing, though. When the chest plate came off, she looked over my scaled chest in idle curiosity as she groped for the release to the abdominal piece.

"Seems like you've seen your fair share of bullets."

"Yeah." I replied as her hands found the locks. I gasped in pain as she pulled off the abdominal armor with a sick wet sound. She tossed it to the floor haphazardly as she assessed the wound, which I wasn't quite courageous enough to take a peek at. "April, why were you dodging my questions earlier, when I was asking you why you wanted to be on STT Zeta?"

"It wasn't an issue of trust." She replied quietly, her lilting voice repressed by sorrow. "Don't look at what I'm doing, by the way. You'll never be able to look at me the same again."

I didn't doubt it, so I turned my head to the side and watched for enemies trying to get around our backs. The rifle was still in hand and I could shoot accurately enough from down here.

"Then what was the problem?" I asked. I suddenly felt the most alien feeling I'd ever felt in my life. Her fingers were inside my abdomen. I gasped at the sensation and the agony as I felt her delicately applying medi-gel to some of the organs. I clenched my free, mechanical claw against the floor.

"It's a personal issue." She finally answered. "It's nothing that will interfere with my performance of duties or the mission, it's just something I'd rather keep to myself."

"That's fair." I agreed, "What are you doing, right now?"

Another involuntary hiss of pain.

"Applying medi-gel to some of the ruptured internal organs." She answered. "The medi-gel will staunch the bleeding until the organs mend up on their own. You're just going to be out of commission for a little bit. You're lucky, the hit only scratched the organs instead of fully puncturing or slicing them."

"I feel lucky." I muttered sardonically.

"Now comes the worst part." She told me as I felt her fingers retreat from my stomach. I looked up at her hands, covered with the cobalt blue of my blood, as she held up a needle and thread.

"Shit." I grunted. I'd been sown up before and it...hadn't been a pleasant feeling. "No painkillers?"

"Well," She said with a bright smile, "If you want to thin out your blood and bleed to death, sure."

"Point taken."

Thus began the agonizing process of sowing the wound in my stomach. I cried out through the whole thing, not seeing a point to being tough as a needled continuously punctured my skin and wounds. When she was done, she started applying a disinfectant to the wound that would seep through the stitches and into the organs below.

"We're done." Lena interrupted over the comms unit. "Two hundred Oculator craft in total. We're on our way to reinforce Assault One and the craft are headed for the coordinates you provided. The Third Fleet should be here in five minutes."

On cue, the door to the reactors opened and revealed a grinning Barin. His grin evaporated when he saw April's hands covered with my drying blood.

"Are you alright, Roluck?" He asked.

I looked at April expectantly, awaiting an answer.

"He'll be fine." April said. "Doctor Aline has some pills that will help his organs heal faster. Should be back to himself in a couple days."

"The reactors?" I asked.

"They were there." Barin confirmed with a grin. "Laid enough explosives on them to level a small house."

"Good." I said. "Henry?"

"I think we've beaten most of them back." Henry answered over my comms unit. "But Errahe took a hit to the shoulder and I'm sporting a very nice concussion, judging by how blurry everything is."

"Sounds like I've got my work cut out for me." April replied with a cheery grin.

"Everyone," I said, "Let's fall back to the entrance."

"Roger." Henry and Lena replied.

"Allison," I ordered, "come pick us up."

"You got it." She answered over my headset, "The Third Fleet has arrived and are taking in the craft."

"Good." I praised. "Then it looks like mission accomplished."

"Now let's level this place!" April cheered.

"You need to tone that enthusiasm down." Barin grumbled mutinously.

Despite the aching wound in my stomach, I laughed.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group**_  
_**First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army**_  
_**Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**April Janson - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_  
_**Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships**_


	69. Chapter 69

I was resting in my office, six hours after the operation. From the messages left at the war room terminal, there'd be no rest for us right now. We were headed for a small batarian colony that needed to be persuaded to join this war. I'd had Dr. Aline issue me some painkillers and some shots for mending. I'd washed the former down with some brandy before checking my messages.

There would be no combat on this one, which was good. I needed something that didn't involve a steel claw to the gut. I looked back down at the message from Liara T'Soni, the asari on Shepard's team.

_Colonel Vether,_  
_The batarians have grudgingly reported the presence of previously unreported colonies out in the Terminus systems. With the Hegemony virtually destroyed, the Reapers haven't bothered to hit the batarian colonies yet. We want to use this to our advantage, while we still have it. We want you to recruit any willing volunteers to the fleets and armies you're gathering._

_We want you to travel to Khasan, the biggest one. It is the central point of contact and supply for all of the batarian colonies in the Terminus systems. Do whatever you have to do to get their support._

_Good luck and may the Goddess watch over you. We're all praying for you over here._  
_-Liara T'Soni._

There would be several problems with this mission. First off, the batarians were hard to manage without the Hegemony to tell them what to do. Secondly, none of them were too pleased with the Council or any members of a Council race, which would make things difficult. Third, there would more than likely be slaves present, which was something we'd all have a hard time ignoring. Lastly, Eryc would be borderline impossible to handle around this many batarians. I'd probably have to leave him on the ship.

_In fact,_ I thought to myself, _Maybe I should just bring Enua and Barin with me and nobody else._

Still, everything was working out well from the last mission. The Oculators had been stripped of all Reaper communication, making them more difficult to hack. There were still teams trying to figure out how to make everything we'd picked up impervious to Reaper hacking attempts, but I wasn't expecting results right away, on that one.

I waited quietly as more people checked into the War Council discussion on my terminal. It was time for another meeting and the Council had demanded to be a part of it.

When Commander shepard finally joined the talks, there was a moment of silence before Admiral Hackett said one simple word.

"Report."

"Sir," Commander Shepard reported, her voice sounding utterly exhausted, "I'm in the process of finding out about Leviathan and I'm almost finished. Tuchunka still has three days before that Reaper poisons the atmosphere, so we'll be striking very soon. I've gotten additional commitments from some smaller forces, which I've noted in my report."

"I read it." Admiral Hackett agreed. "Two-hundred percent gain?"

"You bet your ass." I heard someone else chip in. This voice was from Aria T'Loak, the 'Queen of Omega'. Her voice was what I imagined it. Tough and very forceful. "My forces are committed. I've also managed to pull smaller forces from surrounding area and will be taking Omega back after Commander Shepard finishes assisting the krogan and turians."

"Very well." Admiral Hackett said, "Colonel Vether, what's your status?"

"We've got a lot of injuries," I reported wearily, "myself included, but we managed to procure a couple hundred of those Collector Oculator craft from a moon off of Thessia. That, combined with the six thousand mechs we recently gained from the Hahne-Kedar station, give us about a ten percent increase in combat effectiveness."

_Another group for our army._ I thought bitterly. _Another group to help us save the lives of everyone in the galaxy so they can get on with their blissful lives. And I'll...I'll..._

"How did you calculate that when you've already got over four million troops?" I heard Aria sneer.

"Simple." I said, "Each mech is worth about ten soldiers. While they aren't as capable of thinking tactically, they are very advantageous in that they can't be converted and can withstand a lot of attacks from these Reapers that the average soldier can't. As for the Oculators, they are very fast, very powerful and can't be automatically targeted, making them perfect for air-to-ground engagements or dogfights."

"Fair enough." Dalatrass Eira said, "Your wound, how bad is it?"

"Got torn open at the gut." I answered quietly, feeling a little embarrassed at sharing, "Perforated internal organs, but our medic patched me enough to get me to the doc. Now I'm just waiting to heal up."

"What are your future plans?"

"We're headed to the Terminus Systems for a recruiting drive of batarian colonies, though we're only stopping at one." I told him, "It's a long shot, but the numbers would be invaluable if we can get recruits. Plus, there won't be any combat, so we should be able to give ourselves a little bit of rest. After that, we'll stand by to assist Shepard with whatever she needs on Tuchunka."

"Good call." Admiral Hackett said.

"I'll assist you on that colony." Aria told me, "Give me the coordinates."

"You're helping us?" I asked, surprised. Why would a crime boss want to help us?

"Helping you helps me, in the end." Aria answered. "If this war isn't won, it won't really matter what I want to do, will it?"

_Fair point._

"On another note," Councilor Tevos said, "Why the hell did you order our fleet to evacuate Thessia?"

_Oh, great._ I groaned, _Because this is what I wanted to deal with._

"Because they weren't doing anything over Thessia." I said, "For every Reaper they destroyed, a Reaper took over a hundred. They were going to die and contribute nothing valuable to this war effort. Better to hold them back until they can do some real, measurable damage."

"But Thessia is burning!" Councilor Tevos cried, outraged.

"So it was alright when it was just Earth and Palaven burning?" Councilor Sparatus cut in, annoyed. I privately cheered for the turian Councilor.

"You were content to smugly sit back and advise when it wasn't your people dying." Commander Shepard reminded her, the woman's hard voice simmering.

"Don't mistake the Council's role here." Admiral Hackett told Councilor Tevos. "You're not in command of us, right now. The intel you give us can be easily received from other sources, since it's being filtered down to you anyways. The Citadel is awaiting an attack and being put under martial law."

"But-" Councilor Tevos interrupted.

"Supplies and troop transport are being handled by the military." Admiral Hackett continued, ignoring her, "You command nothing. You all are merely there to display that the galaxy is still in order. Your presence at these War Councils is a courtesy. Don't question my commanders again."

I bristled a little at his use of 'my', but I respected the human greatly so I let it slide without comment. Truth be told, I wasn't exactly sure who I answered to. If I was under the command of Admiral Hackett, I wouldn't mind it much, but it'd be nice to get an answer.

"We understand that, Admiral." Councilor Udina assured the man, his voice placating, "We are doing our part."

"Very well." Admiral Hackett replied as I sent the coordinates for Khasan to Aria T'Loak and a message to Admiral Hackett. I heard the man pause for a moment, then continue. "The Fifth Fleet and some of the salarian fleets have continued the harassment campaign. We've destroyed a half dozen Reapers with light losses, but it won't last forever. The Crucible is at about twenty-five percent. Everybody keep me apprised. Hackett out."

As comms channels began to close, I heard Admiral Hackett speak again, this time to me.

"Colonel." his grisly voice growled, "What do you need?"

"A point was brought up earlier, sir." I said, "A point I'm not too clear on."

"Who's in command of you?" He asked.

"Yes." I admitted.

"Officially, you're under the Council's command." He replied instantly. "In reality, you report to and belong to me. I'm commanding this entire campaign and you're a very big part of it. When we counterattack, you'll be in charge of the strategic planning and your forces. But yes. You're under my command."

"You want me to take charge of the forces for the counterattack on Palaven?" I asked, monumentally surprised. I assumed a General or something would be flown in to deal with it.

"Yes, I do." Admiral Hackett responded. "We have about a dozen Generals of all races left in the galaxy, not counting the quarians and krogan. Primarch Victus will be assisting in the planning of the assault on Earth and the attack with Urdnot Wrex. General Corinthus, the only other turian General, can't exactly plan the counterattack on Palaven when he's just trying to survive the defensive on Menae. Between you, Gerrard and Admiral Lena'Zuril, you've got some of the best tactical minds in the galaxy aboard your ship."

"I...I'm honored, Admiral." I told him honestly. The very idea that I would be flying in, commanding my armies and fleets to save my entire planet, was overwhelming.

I was already thinking about what I wanted to do when the Admiral chuckled.

"I can tell you already have an idea."

"Well," I said, "it's simple, honestly. If we beat the actual Reapers, their ground forces become easy targets for our ships, vehicles and heavy weapons. Beat the Reapers and we can simply set up a command center to coordinate with regions and re-take our planets."

"That's along the lines of what we were thinking." Admiral Hackett replied, "We'll secure air superiority and keep ground forces at bay long enough to set up a command in each region. Then they'll coordinate with whatever remains of forces that were there when we arrived. That way, we can just set up supply lines, defenses and communications. That'll enable us to move on to the next planet within a day or two."

"Thank you, sir." I told him, "That's all I had."

"I've got a spare moment." He said, "How's Captain Gerrard? Our last conversation was not a happy one."

"He's recovering, sir." I answered. "He'll be fine."

"That's good to hear." Admiral Hackett seemed to muse, "Thank you for those SOP's on the marauders and cannibals. Keep me apprised of the situation."

"Yessir." I answered just before he logged out.

I slowly pushed myself out of my chair, feeling little shocks of pain from the wound in my stomach as I did so. I had been forced to keep my armor off, so I was now dressed in simple turian robes. I hated wearing these things, much preferring my armor. Still, I walked out of the war room and towards the elevator.

When I got in the elevator, I hit the shuttle bay display on the holographic interface. I waited patiently as it descended, idly scratching at my stomach.

_This wound itches._ I bemoaned.

I briefly reflected on the mindset of being far more annoyed that the wound in my stomach was itching, rather than that it'd almost been a killer.

When the door opened, I wasn't very surprised to find the shuttle bay nearly deserted. I heard that the turian and Alliance crews were working on the batteries, for some reason. Still, Henry stood at the weapons bench, my abdominal armor laid on it. He was in the process of bending the metal back into shape as I entered.

"Oh, good." Henry said when he glanced up and saw me. He looked around the empty shuttle bay. "I've been meaning to speak with you."

"About?" I asked, pretty sure I already knew what he wanted to discuss.

"What the hell was that little argument with Lena before the mission?" He demanded to know, his eyes cold as he watched me. "I've been putting up with a lot since that day on the Citadel, Roluck, but this is starting to become a problem."

"I'm sorry." I told him, "That shouldn't have happened. I've been..."

I didn't know what to say. The truth was, I had no idea where that had come from. I couldn't tell him that, though. He was a friend, but he was still my Executive Officer. If I displayed any fatal flaws, it was his duty to take charge.

_And even though he'd hate himself for it, he'd do it._ I reminded myself.

I sighed and just shook my head, clearing the thoughts out.

"I've been stressed, lately." I said, "This whole thing with my brother...I just need a break. It won't happen again, Henry, don't worry."

"Alright." He muttered, looking down. "At least the hit to your abdomen was light enough that I'll be able to fix your armor. Shouldn't be too much of a problem. A day, max."

"Good to hear." I said, pleased that my armor would be right back within a day. With luck, I could talk April into letting me wear it. I'd told Eryc earlier that I was thinking of simply overriding her on that point, but he'd shrugged and reminded me that a medic's orders always overrode an individual's wants. No matter the rank. "On another note, I'm going to have most of the team sit out this next mission."

Henry looked up sharply and narrowed his eyes.

"Why's that?" He asked.

"We're going to a batarian colony." I answered. "I'm making an inspirational speech or something. I still don't know how it's going to play out, but they're not going to attack me. They're scared and desperate for help, I'm sure. I have no doubts there'll be slaves present, though. That's something I don't want most of the team to have to deal with. Especially Eryc and Lena."

"Fair enough." He conceded with a nod, before looking back down. "How's the stomach?"

"Itchy." I complained immediately. "I think the painkillers are working, because it only hurts when I move too fast. How's your head?"

"The concussion wasn't too bad." Henry answered with a shrug. "After I'm done with the armor, some of the plates are going to need to sit for a while as the hardening agent I'll put on them dries. I'll sleep off the dizziness then."

"Make sure you do." I instructed him seriously. "I gotta go talk to Enua. We're bringing along Aria T'Loak on this next one and I want to know exactly what I'm getting into, here."

"Wait," Henry said, stopping me, "You're shitting me, right? Aria is seriously joining you? As in, Shadow Broker aside, the biggest crime lord in the galaxy?"

"Yeah." I answered. "That's the one."

"Be careful, Roluck." He warned me, "She's probably earnest in that she wants to help, but I wouldn't put it past her to be trying to manipulate you."

"I know." I told him, "Thanks for the heads up, but I'll be careful."

"Good." Henry muttered as I walked away. I weaved through the corridors of the deck until I found Enua's door. This time, I made sure to knock.

"Yeah, come in."

I opened the door and found Enua cleaning out her Vindicator. She looked up at me and smiled.

"What do you need, Boss?"

"Next mission is to a batarian colony n the Terminus Systems." I told her, "The Reapers have completely ignored them. We're going to try and recruit everybody out of there that we can before the Reapers realize their mistake. I'm going to be bringing you and Barin only."

"Probably a good idea." She said, "Everyone else is too sentimental and just having Barin there will show that we're open to negotiations with the batarians."

"Yeah, yeah..." I muttered, not overly concerned with that aspect of the missions.

"There won't be any resistance." Enua continued, the asari Spectre slamming the bolt into the upper receiver of her rifle. "They need guidance, right now. Without leaders, they're terrified and I know they're all itching for a fight, so make sure to use that."

"Mmm-hmm." I intoned, waiting for a break. Enua must've noticed my tone, because she gave me a strange look, her sapphire eyes narrowing.

"You didn't want to talk about that, did you?"

"Nope." I answered. "How much do you know about Aria T'Loak?"

"Enough to know that even though I could probably shut down half of Omega by myself with my networking and combat skills..." Enua started uncertainly, "I still wouldn't mess with her."

"Why's that?"

"The woman's a very powerful biotic." Enua replied immediately, as though she'd had this conversation before. "From what I hear, she's a pretty accomplished marksman, as well. What makes her most dangerous, though, is the unsettling way she just knows everything. I don't know how the woman does it, but nothing gets past her. Not much for tactics and battles, but one-on-one? One of the most dangerous people in the galaxy."

"Great." I muttered.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because she's coming with us." I told Enua.

Enua's reaction was not what I expected. She cocked her head at me, as if trying to figure out whether or not I was lying. She finally realized I wasn't and her eyes widened slightly.

"What?" She asked, finally stopping with the weapon assembly. "You're serious? She's really coming along?"

"Yeah." I answered.

"She's probably trying to install assets out there." Enua grunted, "Just be very careful of her, Roluck. She's ruthless, cunning and she'll undoubtedly like you for your strengths."

"She'll try to seduce me?" I asked dubiously.

"Absolutely." Enua corrected. I almost felt a little hope, until she added, "Don't let her. She'll try to manipulate you. Even though I don't think she tries to do it."

"You know a lot about her." I observed.

"We have a history." She said, looking, for the first time ever, uncomfortable. "A rather close one."

I tried not to be bothered by the problem that would cause and failed. I was about to say something when Allison's voice cut in over the speakers.

"Boss, I've got this baby on autopilot, we should be there in an hour." She told me, "In the meantime, I found something the team might want to see. Nothing urgent or even serious, just a little intrigue up in the lounge."

I looked at Enua and shrugged.

"Might as well." She said, "I have nothing going on."

Two minutes later, the two of us were up in the lounge, along with most of the crew. Nesk and Barin weren't here and Errahe was still in the med-bay. The bullet to the shoulder had hit some nerves and Dr. Aline was working on repairing them. Allison was waiting as we all sat down on the couches. She was holding...magazines?

"What are those?" I asked.

"Well." She said, looking absolutely triumphant, "These are military magazines. Asari, Human, Turian and an interspecies military magazine. Each of them coordinated within themselves to make a list of the most formidable soldiers in the galaxy. Some of us made the list and I thought you'd like to see it before you make some big fiery speech. Bolster your confidence and all."

I heard interested murmuring as she tossed the magazines onto the central table. Hands reached for them until I held up my own in a staying gesture. Everyone looked at me, waiting.

"We do these one at a time." I told them. "As the commanding officer, I'll do the turian magazine first."

I picked up a magazine entitled 'Heirarchy's Heroes'. It depicted a pair of turians on the front who were blasting away at Reaper forces. I was surprised to find them using live-action shots on the cover. Still, I flipped to the list, near the beginning of the magazine. I was surprised to find that each profile of the top ten list had an entire page dedicated to them.

The absolute best part of it, though, was that I was in first.

The picture of me was a recent one of me on Earth, undoubtedly from Urre's combat documentary. I was in the back of the Kodiak we'd taken in, firing the Harrier out at enemy forces. From this angle, the scarring on my face and my mangled hand were clearly visible. Much to my delight, I looked absolutely grizzled. Other shots were there, mostly of me from times on back. I turned my attention to the column.

_Colonel Roluck Vether,_  
_When you need a battle planned, fought and won, this is the man to come to. Colonel Vether has fought more battles against Reaper forces than Commander Shepard and has the scars to prove it. He leads STT Zeta as the commanding officer. He and his team entered this war before it even started, fighting against Vanguard's forces on Rothla, Asteria and Eden Prime. After the destruction of Vanguard, he turned his attention towards training and personally fought Reaper forces on Palaven and Earth during extraction missions._

_For the women out there, this turian is single. He may be missing a hand and half his face, but if you can get fan mail to the SSV Vengeance, you may just get lucky and-_

I stopped reading about there, pleased with the article as everyone around me was silently waiting. I turned the page to see Garrus Vakarian's ugly face peering out from behind the number '2'. I laughed in victory and read the article. It mostly extolled his fights alongside Commander Shepard and briefly touched on his relationship with her, warning female readers that 'They'll have to fight the deadliest being in the galaxy over him'.

I reminded myself to give Garrus some shit when I saw him next. I flipped around to find us followed by the Primarch and Councilor Sparatus. I looked up at the expectant team.

"I won over Garrus." I told them. "Number one!"

"Nice!" Alice yelled, holding a hand out. I handed the magazine to her and she began to read as I picked up the asari one next. It was called 'Matriarch's Military'. I looked at Enua expectantly as I started turning the pages.

"I'm going to be very disappointed if you don't make the top of this list." I informed her.

"Don't bother." She said, "Aria's going to make the to-"

"Don't be so sure." I muttered when I got to the list and found Enua's picture staring at me. Her picture had clearly been taken from the assault on Eden Prime. The darkness obscured some of her face, but enough of it was visible to know she was pissed. She held a Vindicator in her hands and was busy gunning down cannibals. I noticed Lena nearby in the picture, firing the Crusader at a brute. The other pictures had her standing over something. I noticed a dead Thresher Maw was one of them.

"Spectre Enua Ira." I read aloud to an amused group, "Easily one of the deadliest Spectres in the clandestine spy and saboteur organization, this asari is known for her absolute lack of fear for pretty much anything. She has been quite proficient in toppling small governments and criminal organizations without firing a shot herself, then turning around and slaughtering a Thresher Maw on foot-"

"Give me that!" Enua demanded, snatching the magazine from my hand. Her eyes widened and she said, "Damn. I really did make the top of the list. Oh and look, there's Aria in second. Too bad. Oh hey, Matriarch Aethyta made number three...go figure."

I reached for the human magazine with a smile and picked it up. This one displayed, to my surprise, Admiral Anderson on the front page. It said it had an unclassified article concerning the impossible war on Earth.

As I flipped the pages, I knew who would be first and I'd given Henry a break. Sure enough, a familiar red-headed woman peeked out from the pages of the top of the list.

"Yeah," I said, nonplussed, "Commander Shepard. We all knew that was coming."

I turned the page to find that Henry was not, in fact, number two.

"Ouch." I said aloud, "Looks like our fearless Executive Officer got ousted by Admiral Anderson."

"That's fair." Henry muttered, "Did I at least make three?"

I turned the page and grinned.

"There we go." I said aloud, "Took long enough."

The picture was of him on Earth, yelling something to his troops as he cradled Angel in one hand and pointed with the other. The shot unfortunately captured his bad side, the one with the scarred temple and half an ear.

"Captain Henry Gerrard is one of the few soldiers in the galaxy who could give the sniper Vakarian a run for his money." I read, "This human is the Executive Officer of STT Zeta and an invaluable part of the war effort. He was originally inducted after the geth attack on Eden Prime, where STT Zeta found him slumped against a turret with an entire geth platoon dead in front of him. When the attack on Earth came, he single-handedly organized resistance cells in Africa that still hold, according to current reports. Unfortunately, for the women out there, this one is taken by a deadly woman on the Flotilla."

I looked up at Henry, who looked mightily embarrassed. Eryc looked like he was holding back a laughing fit as he quietly shook with his fist to his mouth. April didn't even bother with the pretense, letting loose a bubbly little laughing fit at Henry's embarrassment.

"Oh Henry," I squealed, trying to raise my voice a couple pitches like I'd once heard Eryc do when he was imitating a woman. It failed miserably. "You romantic."

"Shut up, Roluck." He grumbled. "Let's hit the last one, huh?"

"You got it." I answered with a smile, picking up the last magazine. I flipped to the list and was very surprised to see who had made it to their number one pick.

Admiral Lena'Zuril peered out from behind her visor as she fired at something while in the middle of a field at night. This was also taken on Eden Prime, if I wasn't mistaken. She held the Crusader aloft and they'd pulled a shot out as she fired, leaving the moon and the blast to illuminate her deceptively deadly form.

I felt my mandibles lift in a smile as I glanced around the room. Everyone was watching me expectantly.

"Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance is a very reclusive woman." I started. I heard gasps around the room as everyone looked at Lena, who had straightened in surprise. "As a result, she has been described as friendly in conversation, but cold and merciless in combat. However, this member of STT Zeta (Big surprise) was recently seen in a video on an uncharted world where she stood down a brute charge, then climbed on top of it and blew its head off."

"I'm going to kill you, Allison." Lena muttered grumpily. Allison shushed her, waiting for the rest of the article.

"According to inside sources," I continued, "She obtained her Admiralty when she defeated a full platoon of her Marines in simulated combat. This woman is one of the very few hgh-ranking quarians seen outside the Flotilla, the other one being Admiral Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. She is apparently set to be wed to Captain Gerrard, though it's unsure whether this will be done after the war or sooner. One thing's for sure: In a galaxy full of merciless krogans, trained killers and ruthless survivalists, this woman stands head and shoulders above the rest."

There was silence, then Enua had to open her mouth.

"Why couldn't I get a rousing write-up like that?" She asked.

"Anybody else we know on there?" Henry asked.

"Yeah." I replied, "Urdnot Wrex is sitting at number two. Got a drell assassin on three and Krieg on four...pretty badass shot of him."

I looked around and realized I had to take my leave. I had some persuasive words to get through and as much as I hated to admit it, I'd be much more fluid if I had a few drinks beforehand. So, I got up to do just that as everyone began talking to each other. I was almost to the door when my rather sensitive hearing picked up someone saying my name amongst the crowd. I turned to see April looking up at me, grinning as she held the turian magazine in hand. Nobody else seemed to notice as she spoke.

"Palaven's most eligible bachelor." She read from the magazine before looking up at me, jade eyes shimmering in amusement. "You going to go check in on your fan mail from the adoring women?"

"I doubt there'll ever be any, look at me."

I had tried for self-deprecating humor, but it wasn't exactly what I was best at. That fact was reflected as April's perpetual smile fell and she cocked her head at me with a small frown on her face.

I declined to follow the stupid comment up, turning my back on everyone and heading through the door.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group**_  
_**First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army**_  
_**Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**April Janson - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_  
_**Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships**_


	70. Chapter 70

More than a few drinks, a long discussion with Eryc along with some tooling around with the Harrier and I was happily walking out of our shuttle to Iri'Lesh, the capital of Kharan. I rubbed at my eyes before setting foot on the ground. I was surprised to find, as Enua stepped out behind me, that Aria T'Loak had already landed. In fact, she was headed this way.

She stood tall for an asari and cruelty seemed to just roll off of her in waves. Her skin was a deep purple, like Elura's had been. Thin, black tattoos framed her face as she glared around at the surrounding batarians with lips set in a grimace. I noticed that a thin line of black make-up ran from her lower lip to her chin.

She was dressed in a white jacket, with a log-sleeved purple shirt underneath and long white gloves. Black pants and boots completed the ensemble and I could easily see why people called her "The Pirate Queen."

Dark blue eyes appraised me with interest as I approached her. There was no warmth in those eyes; it was almost terrifying. She was flanked by a pair of rough-looking krogan.

"Colonel Vether." She greeted, the name rolling off her tongue as she eyed me. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Our reputations precede the both of us." I agreed.

"And what reputations they are." She observed lightly, a smirk on her face. "I'll be interested to see how you go about all this."

"I'm not planning on shooting up civilians." I hedged, trying to get away from this conversation. Aria looked over my shoulder and I saw her eyes narrow.

"Enua." She hissed, not even bothering to hide the anger in her voice. "Of course you'd be here."

"Everything going to be alright?" I asked, looking back at Enua. She was watching Aria evenly, with as neutral a face I'd ever seen on the spy/saboteur.

"Ancient history." Enua answered quietly. "It won't be a problem, will it, Aleena?"

Aria's lip curled at the mention of the name and as Barin stepped out of the Kodiak, I was glad I'd brought Enua with me. She was keeping one of the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy off-balance, which would work in my favor. Aria looked at me.

"What do you plan on doing?"

"Just talking." I assured her, "With luck, I won't need to shoot anyone. I've got stitches in my stomach holding my insides in, so I don't think I can take a direct engagement."

"Will you be able to fight right now if needed?" She asked.

I eyed her warily, but still answered.

"Do I need to remind you who you're talking to?"

I expected anger, but instead got a small smirk.

I looked away from her and around at the surrounding colony. Iri'Lesh was a rather large settlement, but most of it wasn't homes. Most of it wasn't homes, but it was crates and vehicles and storage areas. In other words, this place wasn't a city so much as a massive supply outpost. When we'd flown in, I'd noticed a lot of ships embarking and landing.

As for the world itself, it was a beautiful place of forests and lakes and oceans. A place of perfection to rival Eden Prime.

I noticed people of all races scurrying around, all of them doing menial labor. Slaves, undoubtedly. I ignored it to the best of my ability, preferring to focus on the batarian civilians. All of them were staring at us with hostility, even though we'd gotten clearance to land from the shipping control.

"Why are you here?" I asked, "Other than to set up your own network?"

"My own network will be the one funneling troops and supplies to your forces." She said immediately. "And willing volunteers of the seedy sort my way."

"Fair enough." I replied. I didn't particularly like the idea, but she had the contacts and moxie to pull it off.

"Governor's this way." Aria indicated a distant building with a slender finger, "Let's go."

I bristled a little at her attempt to give me orders, but followed her anyways. I doubted I'd be getting much help from the locals. As we walked, I noticed Aria's lip curl in disgust when she saw all the slaves surrounding us, desperation in their faces when they looked at us. I kept ignoring them, knowing that there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

"Don't like slaves?" I wondered aloud.

"There are no slaves on my station." Aria replied immediately, her face neutral, "The people there may be under the constant threat of muggings and kidnapping and murder, but they are free. That has never changed. It's something General Petrovsky will learn, soon enough."

I raised my estimation of Aria in the slightest. She may have been a crime lord, but she was a little more complex than I'd originally believed. I looked back at Enua, who didn't seem the slightest bit surprised by Aria's declaration.

"So you plan on taking Omega back?" I asked as we passed a small group of batarian militia.

"I do." She confirmed without hesitation as we took a turn and ended up in an open market, "But that's an issue that is neither here nor there, as far as you're concerned."

"You don't want our help?" I asked, surprised. I'd assumed that part of her being here was to convince us to help on Omega.

"I don't need it." She corrected me, "I've already got the perfect person in mind to help."

"Ah." I replied, already knowing exactly who she was talking about. As we passed a batarian woman shopping for groceries with her child, Enua beat me to it.

"Shepard, then." She concluded. Aria glanced at her, then nodded.

"Yeah," Barin agreed, finally speaking up. "I figured as much."

Aria seemed to grit her teeth as we marched on out of the market.

"I will kill that son of a bitch." She promised quietly. "And I will rally my people to win this war. Omega is mine and nobody else's."

The anger in her voice was a little startling, but I managed to keep a straight face as we marched onwards. Her mood seemed to change as she realized how tense she'd just made everything. As one of her krogan bodyguards shoved a batarian out of our way, she looked back at me.

"So Colonel." She said, her voice lowering a little, "You look like a turian that really needs to lighten up. I mean, the entirety of the Heirarchy needs to, but when was the last time you'd even seen a naked woman?"

_Too long._

"It's not really important." I told her, trying to reign back my anger and failing as a little slipped through to my words.

To my displeasure, Aria just laughed.

"There's an answer I've heard before." She replied, "Maybe you should drop by my station sometime, when I get it back. The dancers there are exquisite. And not just when it comes to dancing."

"I'll pass."

"Loosen up, soldier." She taunted, before we arrived at the administrative building she'd pointed out earlier. We were about to enter, when there was a sudden strangled yell to our left. I turned to see a batarian coming straight at me, knife in hand.

I moved to attack him, knowing I was going to be headed to the med-bay after this mission and getting some of my wound re-stitched by Dr. Aline.

I was saved from the trouble, however, when Aria stepped directly in front of me, grabbing the batarian by the neck and throwing him to the side.

"I've got this." She said as the batarian recovered. I noticed, now, that all of his eyes were completely black. The mark of an indoctrinated being.

Aria strode forward and knocked the knife right out of the batarian's hand. He moved to hit her, but she slithered to the side and her hand glowed with biotic energy. She looked back at me and I could've sworn she winked at me. Then she smirked and backhanded the batarian, her hand shrouded in biotic energy.

A combination of her own strength and powerful biotics destroyed the bone and flesh in his skull. The top half of his head suddenly departed from his body in a spray of blood and gore as Aria's hand completed the swing.

_Spirits..._

That display of raw power probably wasn't just for me. With this many eyes, word would get around about what Aria had done. The stories alone would net her some influence and she'd be able to exert that to start building a network here. Though taking off half of a man's head to excite me was more than a little disturbing, her ulterior motive was clever enough.

There was panicked yelling around me and I heard weapons being charged. We were suddenly surrounded by civilians and militia holding weapons on us. I counted at least six weapons just on me. Every expression was panicked and terrified.

"Woah..." I murmured, raising both of my hands in a show of cooperation. "Calm down, everyone."

"I'll give the orders, if you don't mind." Came a voice from my left. I craned my head to see a batarian in ceremonial clothing with an Avenger assault rifle leveled at me. "Who the hell are you?"

"Colonel Roluck, Special Tasks Team Zeta." I answered instantly, trying to keep Aria from saying something that might make negotiations difficult. She didn't seem particularly threatened, leering at a nearby batarian. "I was here to negotiate, until I got attacked by this indoctrinated man over here."

There was a long silence, then the man lowered his weapon.

"I've heard of you." He said, "You're supposed to be one of the guys running this war, right?"

"Yes." I answered.

"And why is Aria T'Loak with you?" He wondered, all four of his eyes narrowed at her.

"To assist in setting up supply lines." I lied immediately. I heard an appreciative chuckle from Aria.

"The moment he landed, he was attacked!" A nearby batarian growled, "He's just going to bring us trouble."

"Shut your god damn mouth." Barin replied from behind me. I felt a brief flash of gratitude before turning back to my conversation.

"You're the governor, I presume?"

"Karnick." Was the only name that passed his lips, but it was enough. "Why have you come here?"

"If your men could lower their weapons..." Enua drawled, her weapon out of her holster, though she had it pointed at the grouned.

Governor Karnick looked around at us and I could tell he was thinking about just forcing us to leave. I saw weariness and worry in his eyes, but also grim resignation. I could use that.

"We're not here to threaten or coerce, governor." I placated.

"Governor." Enua piped in, "We simply want to send a broadcast to the colonies. We need all the assistance we can get with this war. We won't impose or intrude upon you, we will merely say our piece and go."

"And if I refuse?" He asked.

"We leave." Aria answered before I could, "And you're left with the hope that we manage to defeat the Reapers. If we don't, the Terminus system colonies will soon be destroyed. Your choice."

He took a long breath, clearly trying to decide what to do.

"Lower your weapons, men." He finally ordered. He looked at us, "What do you need from me? I'm extremely busy."

"Two things." I answered as he started towards the administrative building, "I need a priority broadcast to your colonies to override all other broadcasts. Anyone with any connected monitor will see it."

"That'd be this way." He grunted, turning right through the cramped building. "The second thing?"

"My associate here-" I indicated Aria, "Will set up a network here to run troops and supplies to me. She'll build the supply lines and such. All I need from these colonies are any resources and volunteers you all are willing to spare."

"We can do that." He conceded.

"Then just direct me to a terminal and let me know when to start."

"I'll do you one better." He told me, leading us towards a door on the left side of the hall, "I use this room for emergency broadcasts to the colonies. You can speak in there and it'll send the broadcast out to every monitor we're connected to."

"Good." I said as we approached the door. I looked at Aria. "You in or out?"

"I don't make speeches." She answered immediately. "I'll wait."

"Suit yourself." I said with a shrug.

I walked into the room, to find the batarian Hegemony flag mounted up on a wall behind me. The room was well lit and bare, with nothing adorning the walls or floor. In other words, a room built purely for utility.

"You ready for this?" Enua asked as I took my place in front of the camera on the wall opposite the flag.

"Not really." I muttered.

"We're on in five seconds, Colonel." Governor Karnick informed me.

I waited quietly until the green light on the hovering camera informed me that it was recording.

"Hello." I started, not sure how I was supposed to address entire colonies of batarians. "I'm Colonel Roluck Vether, Commanding Officer of Special Tasks Team Zeta. I'm here today because the galaxy needs help and all of you can help. I'm a a politician. My words will be brutally honest, concise and as free of manipulation as possible."

I took a breath and continued, feeling very uncomfortable.

"We need troops, supplies and pilots." I said, "They are three things this war seems to be short on. These colonies, having been temporarily left alone by the Reapers, are a perfect source of those."

I looked around at Enua, who shot me a small smile.

"I know it's easy to want to stay out of it." I said, "Out here, where you haven't been attacked yet, the Reapers seem like a distant problem and you think you can just go unnoticed. Believe me when I say I've seen the most powerful worlds in the galaxy burn and your fate will be no different."

_I can't believe it's come to this._ I bemoaned privately.

"I was on Palaven when it was attacked." I told the camera, "I stopped by on Earth and saw the utter devastation there. I just came back from Thessia, where the asari are being ground down into nothing. Sur'Kesh has been completely taken over. My friend and comrade, First Sergeant Pazen, was on Khar'Shan. I didn't really give him a heads up, but I'd like him to speak to that."

Barin gave me a slightly angry look, but still pushed off the wall and walked up next to me.

"The Colonel is right." He spoke in his guttural tone. "I watched our people destroyed on our home planet. There's nowhere to run and hide in this war. I know everybody is terrified and to be completely honest, I'm a little scared as well. But if you don't pitch in and help, you'll all end up like those cannibals that I know you've seen on the vids. Mindless brutes, to be used only as tools to bring about the downfall of the galaxy."

He seemed to go into a daze for a moment, before shaking himself out of it.

_That was strange._

"Once again, you cannot hide from this war." He repeated, "The home worlds have fallen and Reapers are advancing on the Citadel as we speak. We need a counterattack. We are not fighting for freedom or power or religion. The entire galaxy is fighting for its life. Your lives included."

Barin gave me a courteous nod and I took back the room.

"I urge you all to please give what you can." I finished. "Whether that be credits, supplies or your service."

I shot Governor Karnick a look and he nodded, stepping forward next to me.

"I'm going to have an outpost on each world," He said, "where you can sign up or give whatever supplies you feel are necessary. Aria T'Loak will be setting an infrastructure down to relay these supplies and troops."

He cut off the broadcast and I was surprised that he'd just left it at that. However, I guessed that we'd said our piece. I just shrugged and gestured for everyone to follow me out. We all left the room and I turned to look at Aria, who was impatiently waiting by the door with her two guards.

"We're done here." I told her, "All that's left is for you to coordinate with the governor about setting down an infrastructure. We gotta head out, I want to hit the Citadel a final time before Shepard goes to Tuchunka."

"Fine." She answered. She looked at her guards and apparently gave them some sort of look, because they immediately backed off. Aria eyed Enua, before looking back down at me.

"I've been thinking it over and I might need some more guns for Omega." She told me. "You and yours are pretty infamous for being pretty good guns."

"If you need the help, we'll be there." I told her.

"Good." She said. "Maybe after that, you can go get a dance or two."

"I'm sure I'll be just fine on the sh-"

"Or if they're not up to par..." She added, her voice dropping dangerously as her cold gaze met mine, "I've been known to dance once or twice. If I'm...persuaded enough."

_What is this woman not getting?_

I'd met her type, several times before. Hell, one of them had been a corrupt Spectre that I'd been forced to kill. It'd taken me three days to corner and three hours of battle to do so. That'd been back during the Blackmarsh days, when I was younger and more inexperienced, but it'd still taught me a valuable lesson.

Women like Aria were very bad news.

Worse, they were always attracted to those with a propensity to killing. Which was pretty much everybody on my crew.

"So good luck with your end of the campaign." I said, immediately switching to another topic. "I gotta go, now."

Without another word, I ushered Enua and Barin to the door and breathed easy when we got back out into the sun.

_Great._ I muttered to myself, _A galaxy-wide extermination and I just managed to land in the sights of one of the most dangerous people this galaxy has._

I sighed as I looked at the sky and started walking.

_Why me?_

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group_**  
**_First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army_**  
**_Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines_**  
**_April Janson - Human, Contracted_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted_**  
**_Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**

**_Zeta Galactic Assets:_**  
**_Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops_**  
**_Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops_**  
**_Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs_**  
**_Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought_**  
**_Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops_**  
**_Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships_**


	71. Chapter 71

We'd already stopped at the Citadel and had a couple hours to spare before we had to start out to Tuchunka. I'd given everyone strict instructions to be back on time or be left until we came back.

"The fleet is about forty percent buit." Engineer Lead Kora informed me. I'd gotten a request for contact from the Nedelas Asteroid Field, where all my ships and troops were. Sure enough, Kora had just wanted to report. "We've stripped a lot of the armor from the quarian ships, put guns on them and they're now serving as heavy troop transports and gunships."

"That's good." I muttered. "We can use them instead."

"That presents a problem, Colonel." Anna piped up from her spot on the QEC's railing. A tiny pedestal had been built on for her use. I'd decided that, since I'd be talking to a very technical man, to let Anna sit in on this one. She could dumb things down for me and offer insightful advice.

"How so?" I asked.

"Quarians live on those ships." She said, "Those aren't just for troop transport, Colonel. If those ships are destroyed, that might destabilize the Migrant Fleet."

"They'll have to make do." I shrugged. "I know it sounds cruel, but that kind of flexibility is just impossible to ignore."

"I understand." Anne replied, sounding a little defeated.

"I'm sorry, Anna." I told her, "It's the way this whole war's going to be."

"It makes sense." She said. "It just seems...what's the human expression...cold."

"It is cold." I informed her.

_You're turning into the same machine you're fighting._ That voice inside my head informed me. I blocked it out as I turned my attention back to business.

Kora, who had remained silent as he watched the exchange between me and Anna with vague interest, spoke up.

"I'll let the quarians know." Kora said, "As for supplies, the Shadow Broker and Alliance are still funneling ship-building materials our way, with a little more speed now. I think now that they're untangled from the homeworlds, finding resources has been eas-never mind, not my purview. Point is, we've been getting more resources. We've managed to start reserves of food, medicine and thermal clips for everyone here after some heavy rationing. Nobody's pleased with it, but everyone understands the necessity."

That was good. I'd gotten word from Shink, on an undisclosed planet, that his troops would be able to sustain themselves for a year before they needed to move. As long as the Reapers kept out of wherever Clan Enute was, we'd be able to put those four million troops on the field.

"Keep it up, Kora." I ordered him, "Have any Reapers come by?"

"A couple have swooped by the asteroid field." He confirmed, "Standard procedure is to halt all activity, immediately shut down all power and don rebreathers until they leave. No heat or electrical emissions, gives them nothing to scan for."

"Won't last forever." I remarked.

"Well, sure." He said, "If the Reapers destroy the homeworlds and the Citadels they'll have all the time in the world to look for us. But if they do that, we've lost anyways."

_Fair point._

"Anything else?" I asked.

"Nothing I can think of." He replied, the human shaking his head. "I'll keep you updated."

"Tell your men," I instructed, "from me, that they're doing a damn good job."

"I'll make sure to." He said with a smile, right before ending the communications.

I was contemplating getting a drink down in my office when a sudden message popped up on my omni-tool. The sender was Lena, which was the only reason I checked it immediately.

_Roluck, we need you here now. Not combat, but it's bad. We're at that house Henry's mother lives in. No guns needed, just please hurry._

And I'd hurried. In moments I was off the ship, with April in tow. Just in case somebody needed to be patched up.

"What is this about?" She asked when the elevator from the docking bay started upwards. She'd easily noticed the rushed tone of my voice when I'd called on her, but hadn't questioned it as she followed me. Now she had me cornered.

"I don't know." I said, shifting around uneasily, "But if it's got Lena worked up, it's got to be really bad."

Despite what she had said, I'd packed my rifle. I wasn't about to take chances on the Citadel. We'd all been complacent when we'd been attacked by indoctrinated in Chora's Den and I wasn't about to let it happen again.

When the door to C-Sec opened, we hopped right into the next elevator for the Presidium, quietly waiting it out. Once it opened, I strode off, as quickly as my legs would carry me without flat out running. I barely even noticed that April was almost having to jog to keep up.

_I need to help them._

I was pushing past politicians, C-Sec and civilians alike as we moved towards the house. I was drawing a lot of looks, my purposeful stride and weapons no doubt drawing scrutiny. I didn't care, though, as we approached the opening of the home Henry's mother lived in. It was already open and I didn't hear any sounds coming from inside. I paused, pulling my Harrier.

"Uh-oh." I heard April whisper fearfully, pulling out her Mattock.

"Hey!" I heard someone yell behind me. Probably C-Sec, but I didn't have time for questions. I merely slunk into the house, weapon out and trained in front of me.

The house was small, but more than most had on the Citadel. There was a central hallway that led off into four rooms, along with an elevator at the end to a second floor.

_Even in the houses._ I mused to myself distantly, _Elevators. They're just...everywhere._

The door opened from the room on my left. I started to move my weapon to it, when Lena walked out, shoulders slumped. She looked up at me and motioned me silently to put my weapon down. We both lowered our weapons and she let the door close behind her.

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

"You...just come see." She said, her voice quiet, almost respectful. Now I was very worried.

She opened the door and I found myself staring at a terrible scene.

The room was small, clearly meant to be a storage room or something of the type, from all the boxes and such stacked haphazardly around. The Citadel's artificial sunlight filtered through the room and shone brightly on the metal of the walls.

Henry was kneeling on the floor, clutching his mother tightly to him. I didn't see the telltale jerking of sobbing or tears, but he seemed completely dead to the world. Mary Gerrard had been shot through the upper body several times and from the copious amounts of blood in the room, it'd probably been a while ago. Her dark hair hung in bloody strings and all the life had drained from those crystalline eyes. Her skin had gone pale, looking colder than the metal floor around her.

I noticed that the room appeared to have been ransacked.

_Not an intentional murder, probably_. Some colder part of me observed,_ Most likely a robbery that accidentally turned into a murder._

"No..." April whispered, brushing past me and approaching Mary's other side. She checked Mary's pulse, which she probably didn't really need to do. The woman was clearly dead.

Turians were a very unfeeling bunch. Even as moderate as I was, I was no different. To see Henry on the floor cradling his mother's dead body, though, was way too much. I left the room, a little ashamed to be doing so but not exactly willing to keep staring at everyone. There was nothing I could do in there.

I decided that I could at least try to do something constructive out in the hallway. Numbly, I turned on my omni-tool and contacted Commander Bailey directly.

"Yeah, what do you need, Colonel?" Bailey's haggard voice said.

"I'd like to report a murder." I told him, "Presidium, block 4D, apartment 62.

"Let's see..." He muttered distractedly,"Home of...Mary Gerrard?"

"Yeah." I answered quietly."That's the one."

"Shit." He grunted, "She's a relative of one of your team, right?"

"Yeah."

A pause, then,

"I've got someone on the way." He reported, "Says here she was a ward for some war orphans. Where are they?"

"Don't know." I told him, "I just got here."

"Call me back when you find them."

I closed the channel and began looking around. There were eight rooms total, four on each floor. I couldn't find the children on any of them and judging from the looks of things, there had to be at least a dozen children.

I was on my way down to tell Lena I couldn't find the children when I heard a small sound under the stairs. My hearing was more sensitive than a human's, making it easier for me to discern and locate sound. I stopped and listened for it again and that's when I heard the slight cry of a terrified child, coming from right underneath me.

I got off the elevator but slammed my arm in between the door and the frame when it tried to close. I pushed the door open and hit the 'up' button for the elevator. I withdrew my arm as it began to move upwards. In the pit where it had been was what looked like concrete with a small ring on it. I pulled on the ring and encountered little resistance as I pulled the faux-cement up.

Under it was a tiny room in which were crammed about a dozen terrified looking children. From the looks of it, none of them were over eight years old. All of them had the red-rimmed eyes that signified a crying human and they all let out cries of alarm when they saw me.

"Hey." I said, trying for soothing. I knew how I looked. I was a turian, which already a little intimidating for a human child. My facial scarring, weapons and cybernetic hand probably didn't help anything either. "No, don't be scared. I'm here to help. I'm a friend of Mary's son."

"Honest?" One of the smallest girls said. A young boy stepped in front of the pack protectively, ready to do what was necessary to defend the rest of the children. The sight broke my heart.

I suddenly recognized both the boy and the girl. They were the same chidlren we'd picked up on Earth, whose mother had been killed in front of them before Urre rescued them. I wasn't surprised that they didn't recognize me. Even as memorable as I'd be to a human child, Earth had been confusing and disorienting for anyone, much less a child.

_And they just got to hear their new mother-figure gunned down by desperate refugees._

"Honest." I told her, doing the best I could to approximate a human smile.

The girl pushed past him and threw herself up at me. I was able to catch her, thinking she wanted help up, but that wasn't what she wanted. She threw her skinny arms around my neck and squeezed, starting to cry all over again.

Usually, I was highly uncomfortable around children, not sure what to do with them. This time, though, I knew exactly what to do.

"It's alright." I assured her, keeping an arm around her tightly while she cried it out.

"What are you doi-" I heard April start behind me. "Oh."

She rushed forward to help as I extended an arm down to the children. One by one, we managed to pull them out of their hiding spot. When the last one was out of the hiding place, I looked at April, who was smiling fondly as she ruffled a boy's hair.

_She'd be better with this girl than me._

"Hey." I said, getting her attention. I gestured to the crying girl with a jerk of my head. "Take her, will you?"

She gave me the strangest smile I'd ever seen and for a moment, we just seemed to stare at each other. Suddenly, she frowned and shook her head, looking absolutely miserable.

_That was strange._

Then she reached for the kid. I handed the girl to her and stood as she took the child. I was about to get Bailey on the omni-tool when, to my surprise, he and four C-Sec agents walked through the front door. None of them were bearing weapons, probably figuring that we'd taken care of anything that could've been in here.

"Where?" Was all he asked, directing a steely blue gaze at the children. I pointed to the door on his left and he urged his men into it, before approaching me.

"I'm surprised to see you here." I told him.

"I need to get out from behind my desk." He muttered. He looked down at the children and ran a hand through his hair as April tried to calm them all down. "Damn."

"I'm not telling you your job." I assured him, "But I'm thinking robbery."

He just nodded, not looking offended or surprised.

"This'd be the sixth one this week." He confessed, "But the first one with a death, though. People wander up from the refugee zones and start stealing up here while everyone's at work. Wards don't work, though, they're paid by C-Sec."

"What are you going to do with the children?" I wondered.

"We'll find them another Ward." Bailey replied, looking at the kids while running a hand through his blond hair.

"They're just hopping to another house?" April asked quietly, approaching the C-Sec commander, "That's not right."

"It's all we can give them." Bailey replied, looking completely unfazed. "Better hopping to another house than down in the refugee sectors with nobody to care for them."

April seemed to concede the point and I somewhat admired Bailey's ability to keep calm and think rationally.

I heard a door open and turned to see Henry trudge out from the room, Lena in tow. I felt a little sorry for Lena, as well. Undoubtedly, she had no idea how to comfort Henry, having never lost a parent before.

That was something I had experience with, though.

"C'mon." I told April. I strode up behind Henry and gave Lena a nod before draping an arm across Henry's shoulders.

"Hey." I said, "Let's get back to the ship."

He barely responded, his face pale and his eyes unfocused. But he at least let me steer him around.

The rest of the walk to the ship was very quiet. Understandably, Henry had nothing to say and everyone else had no idea what to say. Henry didn't need people telling him it was alright, right now. He needed a bit of space and time, which I'd be happy to give to him.

When we boarded the ship, I saw Allison swivel around in her pilot's chair to say something undoubtedly snide and welcoming, but the looks on all of our faces must've driven all jest from her mind. I saw April quickly divert course towards Allison as I guided Henry along. The crew of the bridge looked equally confused by what was going on, but I still managed to get him to the elevator without any questions asked.

Henry, Lena and I headed for the lounge. I shot Lena a look before we opened the door and she nodded to me, reading my mind and checking inside. I led Henry inside and sat him down on one of the couches.

"I'll take care of him." I muttered to Lena. She nodded uncertainly, leaving the room.

I didn't particularly want to kick Lena out, but she didn't know how to handle loss like this. I did. I'd lost my parents and I'd lost an entire unit.

This was a familiar scene. It'd been the same thing with his father and my response was exactly the same, too.

"Anna," I commanded, "Lock the door."

"Yes, Colonel."

I checked my omni-tool. We still had a half hour before we had to depart. More than long enough to get a couple drinks and let him vent. I headed for the bar and grabbed a couple of glasses.

I didn't ask what he wanted, knowing exactly what drink he partook in after an event like this. I pulled the top off of a bottle of bourbon and poured half a glass for Henry. I pulled out the turian brandy and poured some for myself.

_Not too much._ I reminded myself, _You've got a planet to help save soon._

That I did.

I picked both of the glasses up and sat down next to Henry, handing him one.

"Seventeen credits." He grumbled bitterly as he took a sip. His voice sounded completely emotionless, broken. "She was fucking killed over seventeen fucking credits!"

He threw the glass against the bulkhead hard, shattering it into dozens of pieces and splashing bourbon against the wall. I didn't react, completely unsurprised by the outburst. I'd figured that he needed to get some anger out. I took a sip of my brandy as he ran a shaking hand through his hair.

"Shit...sorry, Roluck."

I didn't answer as I stood and poured him another drink. I slid it into his hands.

"Thanks." He said miserably, taking a swill this time instead of throwing it. "It just...it makes no sense."

"My mother and father died when I was young." I told Henry. "First Contact War."

"How do you get over it?" He wondered.

"You never really do." I confided, taking another sip and then crossing my arms over my chest as I stared listlessly at the bulkhead. "It'll always be there, always be replaying over and over again. You just don't let it define you, that's the trick. Look at me. I should hate humans because of the death of my parents, but my best friend is one."

"Yeah." He muttered, looking back down at his drink.

"You just gotta keep pushing on." I told him. "I know it's hard. I have someone I want to stop and mourn, too. I just can't, right now."

"I know." He grunted, taking a sip.

"Tell you what." I told him, "I'm having most of the team sit this next one out. I think we might need the Kodiak, but that's about it, aside from the Vengeance herself. You just stay here and get some drinks."

Thoughtfully, I added:

"I'll even get Lena in here to keep you from blowing your brains all over the deck."

Despite everything that had just happened, Henry managed to choke out a strangled laugh.

"Fuck you, Roluck."

My mandibles raised in a grin and I drained the rest of the brandy before getting up. I had a crew to attend to before we hit Tuchunka. I put the glass in the sink and was about to walk out when my eyes caught on the broken glass littering the floor and the bourbon rolling down the bulkhead in droplets.

"Make sure you get this-" I waved a vague hand in the direction of the mess, "cleaned up before anyone sees it, alright?"

"Yeah." He replied, his voice sounding a little stronger.

"Open the door, Anna."

"Yes, Colonel."

The door slid open to reveal an anxious-looking Lena standing there, quietly wringing her hands. She looked from me to Henry.

"And Roluck?"

I looked back at Henry, who had finally looked up at me.

"Thanks, man."

"It's all part of the service." I told him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an operation to plan."

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group_**  
**_First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army_**  
**_Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines_**  
**_April Janson - Human, Contracted_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted_**  
**_Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot _**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**

**_Zeta Galactic Assets:_**  
**_Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops_**  
**_Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops_**  
**_Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs_**  
**_Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought_**  
**_Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops_**  
**_Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships_**


	72. Chapter 72

"We all clear on this?" I asked, looking around the war room terminal. Barin, April and Errahe were going to be on the shuttle, with Urre reporting. Eryc and Nesk would be operating the Mako. They all sat there, nodding. "This should be simple. The shuttle team keeps the road as clear as we can for Shepard and Allison keeps the Reaper busy. The Mako team reinforces the krogan tanks. Shepard installs the cure, right before detonating the Shroud. We all escape the Reaper destroyer and call it a day."

"Sounds easy." Barin grunted, "Which means there will be complications."

"Of course there will, this is STT Zeta." April answered cheerily, "We'll just deal with the problems as they come."

"Get down to the shuttle bay." I told them all, "Be fully armed and ready to go in ten."

They all stood and started towards the exit, but Errahe stopped short and turned to me.

"Yes?" I asked, expecting some smartassed comment.

"How's Henry?"

"He'll be fine." I told Errahe, "He just needs a day or two."

"Very terrible, walking in on dead parent." Errahe said, "Definitely not needed, with all the stress now."

He had a point, but...

"Nothing we can do about it." I finally answered. "We need t-"

"Colonel." Anna interrupted. I looked around to see her tiny hologram at the QEC. "Primarch Victus wishes to speak with you."

I looked at Errahe.

"Just wanted to know about Henry." He said, "I'll take my leave."

As Errahe started walking out of the room, I headed for the QEC. I looked down at Anna, not quite sure what to do with her.

"You can stay if you want, I guess."

"Thank you," She said, giving me a smile.

_She's becoming more life-like by the day._

I didn't think about that, typing in the response to the request deftly. I felt like I was anchored at this thing, sometimes. I waited for a few moments as I was connected to the SSV Normandy, of all ships.

Primarch Victus showed up in the QEC. He looked more tired than he did the last time I'd talked to him, but I saw hope in his eyes and in his stance.

"Primarch." I greeted.

"Vether." He replied, "I already spoke with Vakarian, so it's your turn."

To his left, Shepard showed up on screen. The woman was built athletically, but not big. It was hard to imagine her beating people to death, seeing her now, but I supposed she'd been upgraded by Cerberus before she'd gone and fought down the Collectors. Even now, I could see the faintest lines of glowing red cybernetics etching along her face and her dark green eyes had the eeriest crimson glow to them.

"Vether." She started with a nod, "Good to see you. Glad to have some reliable backup on this one, I know your team is about as good as mine."

"We'll get the job done." I assured her. "We've got a team in a Kodiak and one team in a Mako. Our pilot should be doing her part keeping the Destroyer busy."

"I miss my Mako." She groaned.

"I do enjoy riding around in that thing." I agreed. "The weapons are incredible."

"I know." She said, "Is Captain Gerrard gonne be there? I owe him a very big favor."

"I heard about that favor." I replied, "Someone close to him was killed on the Citadel. He won't be there on Tuchunka, today."

"Damn." she muttered, looking a little surprised. "We've been having a rough time, too. Then again, I suppose the rest of the galaxy has."

"Which is why I wanted to make contact, Vether." The Primarch said, watching me. "This alliance will help Palaven hold long enough for the Crucible to be built."

"How is Palaven?" I asked, not too sure I wanted to hear the answer.

"Bad." He said, "We're still not at the point Earth was when you visited, but we're getting close. The only silver lining is that as our population dwindles, we become harder to find and root out. So the Reaper advance has slowed, now that we're utilizing hit-and-run tactics. Not our strong suit, but we'll manage long enough for the krogan to drop in."

"And Menae?"

"We're holding there." He said, looking downcast, "But it's not the same as defending a planet. There's nowhere to run or fall back to. The fleet is keeping the Reapers away from General Corinthus and his base, but..."

He seemed to go silent, contemplating.

"But?" I urged.

"But the fleet's going to be moving out, soon." He said, "They're taking heavy casualties, now that the fight's worn on and I need to save them for the counterattack. I've already pulled the Blackwatch away and when the fleet goes, Menae is on its own. That's why I need krogan support immediately. If I don't get them, we lose the moon. We lose the moon, then Palaven is in the same state as Earth."

I thought about that long and hard and felt unnecessary weight pressing down on me.

_I hate this._

It was so much easier when we were simply flying around and kicking teeth in to prevent small wars from breaking out. Now it felt like the entire galaxy was depending on me. Which they were. I sighed and looked back up at Primarch Victus.

"We'll do our best, Primarch." I told him, "My team's already prepping in the shuttle bay. I'll be joining them after this and we'll be ready."

"Wait." Shepard said, holding up a hand, "You're going to be there, Colonel?"

"Should I not be?" I asked, confused.

"Didn't you get your guts spilled out on the last mission?"

"Weren't you dead for two years?"

"Point taken." She conceded.

"If I'm drawing breath, I'm fighting." I told her, "This war doesn't accept sick days unless I'm literally too injured to move. Besides, I'll be at the passenger's seat of the Kodiak. I should be fine."

"Just don't kill yourself, Vether." Primarch Victus ordered, "This galaxy needs you. Palaven needs you."

"I need to get ready." I told them. "Send the coordinates to the ship, Commander. We'll drop in and give you what aerial cover we can to get you where you need to go. Vether out."

I disconnected and started down to the shuttle bay. When I got there, I found everyone waiting for me. Henry and Lena were nowhere to be found, which was just as well. Enua, however, was here.

"Why am I not doing anything?" She wondered.

"There just wasn't enough seats for everyone, Enua." I told her, "Sorry."

"Can I at least stay in the Kodiak?" She wondered.

"Urre's going to be in there." I told her, "I don't think there'll be room."

"You're determined to hold me back on this one, huh?" she asked.

"It's not that-" I started, trying not to give off the wrong impression.

To my relief, Enua started laughing. I'd learned, long ago, that she had a rather...different...sense of humor.

And it was good to hear her laughing again. After Gin's death, I was a little worried about whether or not she'd recover in time to get back in the action. I felt my mandibles tug upwards slightly, but forced the unprofessional expression away.

_I hope Henry recovers in time._

Well, that had shot my mood right down.

"Don't worry, Roluck." she said, "I'm not offended, I'm just fucking with you. Bring me on the next one, though?"

"Absolutely." I assured her. She gave me a nod and I turned to the rest of the crew.

"So you all know the plan." I said, "We haven't gone up against a Reaper on the ground before. Let's try to get back from this one alive, alright?"

"Very encouraging." Errahe commented, as we all started towards our respective vehicles. I pulled myself into the Kodiak, grunting a bit as I felt the slightest twinge of pain make it past the painkillers. I shook my head and sat myself down in the passenger's seat of the shuttle. Lia'Vael climbed into the pilot's chair as Barin and April got up on the guns with Errahe in the middle for assist. Urre nestled himself in between Barin and April, camera ready to go.

"Approaching the Shroud now." Allison informed us over the comms system, "ETA to drop off: one minute."

"I'm filming, now." Urre informed us all. I just nodded, checking my weapon over.

"You going to be alright, Roluck?" Barin asked, "That was a really nasty hit you took, last mission. Hasn't been that long since then."

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Shepard." I said, "Unless I'm literally confined to a bed, I'm fighting. There are no noncombatants in this war if you're still capable of shooting."

"True enough." April muttered, though when I looked back at her, I couldn't help but noticed that she looked faintly displeased.

_She's the doc._ I thought to myself,_ Maybe she thinks I'm overreaching myself._

After a moment of thought...

_I probably am._ I admitted honestly, _But this war doesn't wait for me._

I sighed to myself, wishing things were different. Allison's voice came over the comms system.

"We're dropping now." Allison advised me. The doors to the shuttle bay opened, revealing Tuchunka in all of its glory. As usual, it looked like a complete shithole desert, complete with sandstorms and ruins. But in one distant spot of ruins, I could see something else brewing. There were what looked like thousands of dark seething forms, headed right for the ruins we were going to.

Beyond that, I could see the Shroud, a tall, proud spire built into the rock. It seemed out of place, a beautiful silver structure that contrasted bitterly with the tan dirt, rock and sand around it. The spire looked highly unstable, with visible electricity running up and down its frame.

In front of that structure was the Reaper Destroyer. It was the same size as the one that attacked me on Palaven before I'd escaped. It was impossibly huge, yet somehow not the largest of its kind. It stood on four long and sturdy legs that had to be bigger than our ship, all while sporting a body covered in armor that was big at the base, but thinned out the further up it went. I saw what could almost be called 'mandibles' near the bottom of the body, where the laser and 'eye' was set.

"Dropping now." Lia'Vael reported. I saw the Mako moving out of my peripheral vision as the Kodiak hovered up and slid forward, leaving the shuttle bay. Lia'Vael looked to the left and I saw the Mako in brief free-fall, before Eryc and Nesk engaged the thrusters. "We're clear."

I heard the Vengeance accelerate above us as we started down towards a small group of krogan tanks headed down a road towards the Reaper. I saw the Mako headed towards the ruins, ready to render assistance.

I activated the comms system and tuned in to the tank with the antennae on it, pretty sure that was the one I needed to speak to.

"Clan Leader Urdnot Wrex," I announced over the comms system, "This is Colonel Roluck, STT Zeta. I'm up here in a Kodiak ready to give air to ground support, I have my ship on the way to engage the Destroyer and a Mako on the way to the big fight at the ruins. Request that you let your clan know we're coming."

"Colonel Vether." A deep bass voice rumbled over the Kodiak, "Krieg speaks highly of you. And I do love Makos. I'll give my guys the heads up and thank you for the assi-what are you doing, Krieg?"

"Colonel!?" I heard Krieg's excited voice exclaim, "What idiot promoted you?!

I couldn't help the grin that overtook me as I leaned into the console.

"The same idiots who have me running around this galaxy, apparently." I said, "How's the family, Krieg?"

"Bikir is safe and Akas is at the ruins, ready to fight." He replied gleefully. "And I'm on the way to help cure the Genophage. Now I have my favorite bird with me, too. This day can't get better."

"No." I disagreed as Lia'Vael swooped low beside the tanks simply, I suspected, for dramatic effect, "It can be. Let's get this Genophage cured and it will be the best day the krogan have hand in a millennium."

"I think I'm going to like you, turian." Wrex's voice chuckled over the system. "Shepard's here with us and we'll be getting out at the Shroud. Just help us plow the road there."

"Won't be a problem." I assured him.

I looked ahead and saw the Reaper in the distance, with what looked like a horde of ground troops guarding him. To my left and higher up, I saw the Vengeance drifting, waiting to get into the mix.

"With your shitty aim," I heard a very familiar flanged voice taunt over the comms system, "I'll be amazed if you could even manage to tag that Destroyer."

"Vakarian." I answered with yet another grin, "How're you doing down there, number two?"

"Dammit." He grunted, sounding amused, "I was hoping you hadn't seen that list."

"Don't worry, buddy." I assured him, "I'll make sure to leave a couple of troops for you to snipe at from a distance. You know, from behind a wall of soldiers."

"At least I won't be losing body parts." He jested.

I felt the slightest bit annoyed by the jab, looking down at the mostly cybernetic hand, with small veins of softly glowing blue tracing through it. I curled the fingers idly, before looking back up and recovering.

"At least I won't be losing half my face."

"You already did, Colonel." April pointed out unhelpfully from her perch on the right turret.

"Not helping."

Garrus just laughed and said, "Well, we'll split the work. You do all the fighting, I do all the posing and get all the women. Deal?"

I shook my head.

_Spirits, that turian has too high an opinion of himself._

"Just-" I started, but everything went wrong in an instant.

From over a mile away, the Reaper suddenly let loose a blinding beam of crimson at the road ahead of the tanks. With an explosion of rock and concrete, the road was reduced to rubble, falling into a gorge below. Some of the tanks went with it, but six of them managed to stop before tumbling to their demise, Wrex's tank included.

_This is not a fight we can win._ I realized gloomily. _We should turn back._

I paused for a moment, surprised at the thoughts.

_This isn't me._ I observed, _What's wrong with me? Maybe it's the drinking._

I didn't hold any illusions about how much I was drinking these days, but it helped balance me out. I would not pause here, though. I had too much to do.

I watched as Shepard, Vakarian, a giant that had to be First Sergeant Shepard and what looked mightily like Liara get out of the tank. They seemed to pause as they looked at the road, but I saw what they saw. The Reaper hadn't destroyed it all, yet. There was still a chunk of it that led to the other side.

"It should hold up, Wr-" She started, but there was another blast from the Reaper that nearly took her out. She and her team managed to get out of the way, but the explosion still nearly threw them into the gorge. As Shepard pushed herself away from the site of the blast, I heard her yell over the comms system.

"Wrex, go! Now!"

The tanks started to speed up and I opened my comms line.

"Allison," I ordered, "Keep that damn thing occupied."

"On it, Boss." She answered cooly. I watched the Vengeance accelerate and start towards the Destroyer. It turned towards Allison, sensing the new threat.

I looked back down at the road to find that Shepard had already disappeared.

_Where the hell did she go?_

"Wrex." She said, "Did everyone get out alright?"

"I made it out and so did Eve." He replied, "Wreav and Krieg are here, too. Where are you?"

"Some sort of underground ruins." She answered. In the distance, I saw the Vengeance brush by the Reaper. This one, however, was a lot more agile than Vanguard. It spun and fired, nearly hitting the engines with its red beam.

"Those aren't ruins, Commander." I heard a female krogan say, "What you see is the city of the ancients."

"Get us over to the tanks." I advised Lia'Vael. There was nothing we could do with Shepard underground. We had to help those we could. He nodded and the Kodiak accelerated forward towards the tanks quickly approaching the enemies guarding the Destroyer. I couldn't help but notice that most of the ground forces were detaching from the Destroyer and heading for the main showdown at the ruins.

_Intelligence._ I noted. _Either it's the Spectre or our unknown Reaper tactician._

"Are you feeling those rumbles?" Commander Shepard asked.

"I don't feel a thing." Wrex muttered, but then the woman cut over him.

"Commander," she started, "It could be Kalros, Mother of all Thresher Maws. Legends say she makes her home in this region."

"Which is another reason to get your ass out of there, Shepard. Step on it!"

"We'll clear the way in." I told Wrex, right before we accelerated over the convoy and headed for the forces still left defending the Reaper. In preparation, I strapped myself into the chair, loosely enough that I could lean forward, but tight enough that I wouldn't be falling out of the shuttle.

I opened the door of the transport and searched for a new little addition my fellow turians had set up outside the door. My searching foot found the small panel of metal they'd built in to brace myself on and keep me from dangling over the edge. It also created a good base for me to set my arm on and as the turrets opened fire, so did I.

My first victim was a husk that was standing out in the open, like they all tended to do. Without something to attack, it stood there stupidly and absorbed the rounds until it fell. I shook my head and moved on to a Marauder that was firing up at the shuttle as we passed. I fired a trio of rounds at him. The first one missed, but the next two caught him across the chest and down his shields. With another pair of rounds to the torso, he was down.

We came around for another pass, when I heard a sudden cry over the radio.

"Vether, we need help!" Shepard yelled over the system, "We're pinned down. We came out of the ruins right into a damn army."

I didn't need her to give me coordinates. I could see the group that had split from the Destroyer in the distance, firing away in the middle of some sort of above-ground ruins. I couldn't see Shepard, but I was sure she was there.

"On our way." I told her.

"We'll swing by to pick you up when you're clear." Wrex informed her. As we moved towards the action, I got in touch with Eryc.

"Flynt." I said, "How're you holding up?"

"It's not quite Eden Prime," He said, sounding slightly breathless, "But this isn't easy. We're holding."

"Copy that." I told him.

We swooped low and I saw the Shepards, Vakarian and T'Soni in the middle of at least a hundred troops. They were surrounded on all sides and looked like they were barely hanging on.

"Errahe." I ordered, "Get us in position so we can shoot in front of them and behind them with the turrets."

He nodded without a word, swinging the shuttle around.

"We'll cut you a path, Commander." I assured her. "Get ready to run."

"Roger!"

I saw her team duck down and get low as we started pouring fire onto the ground forces. I sighted in on a marauder ahead of them and emptied half the clip into it before switching to a pair of husks that I was able to put down with a little more accuracy. I saw Shepard pop up from her position with what looked like a Mattock and begin firing incredibly accurate shots at everything in front of her. Two cannibals and a husk when down in a matter of seconds, before she was forced to duck down again. She came back up and put down a pair of marauders with a combination of powerful biotics and headshots.

_I can see why she's the best._ I mused. _Even I'm not that fast or that accurate._

"We'll clear you out, Commander." I told her. I turned my attention to our pilot. "Lia, carve a path out with the cannons!"

Lia'Vael simply pushed the shuttle forward and began pressing down on the trigger. The small cannons of the Kodiak began firing, tearing through everything in its path and headed right for a gap in the wall. Right before we collided with the wall, Lia'Vael jerked the shuttle around so my side was facing Commander Shepard. She and her team were up and running. Right towards us.

A cannibal loomed up in front of Garrus, who was too close to it and would be forced to engage it in hand to hand. I smiled victoriously as I put a pair of rounds into the cannibal's head. I saw Garrus look up at me and shake his head.

"Dammit." He muttered, "I'm going to hear about that one forever."

"Nah," I yelled over the din of battle as they got closer. I fired a trio of rounds at a husk that was chasing them, dropping it, "I'll let that one slide!"

They reached the gap in the wall and pushed out of it. Wrex's tank was there to meet them and they swiftly loaded up as we covered their retreat.

"We're good!" Shepard yelled. We broke away, leaving the forces in the ruins a disorganized mess. They wouldn't be coming after us for a bit.

"Thanks, Colonel." Shepard said.

"No problem." I told her, "Now let's go kill us a Reaper, huh?"

"We have an idea there." Wrex said, "We're discussing it with the Commander now. Just keep doing what you've been doing, Colonel."

It sounded dismissive, but I heard the slight tone of grudging respect behind the words.

"We can do that."

There was a moment of silence as we approached the Destroyer. I noticed Allison's movements were more erratic and sudden, now. She was getting tired and running out of room to maneuver. This wasn't the same as vanguard. The Destroyer was much more nimble and Allison didn't have open space to manuever through. We needed to get help to her quick.

"We've got a plan." Shepard told me, "We're going right under that Reaper. Do you think you can keep us covered down there?"

I looked at Lia'Vael and he gave me an affirming nod.

"We should be able to." I confirmed. "Let's just not hang down there to long."

"I don't plan to." She said.

And so we went. Wrex dropped her off as close as he could to the Destroyer, while he drew the rest of the forces away.

I felt dread as we approached the Reaper, a massive looming structure bent on nothing but our destruction. Up close, it was a million times worse than when it had been shooting at us nearly a mile away. I looked at Errahe again and he gave me a firm nod.

We accelerated as fast as we could go, dodging fire and returning fire. We weren't doing any damage, but that wasn't the point. I glanced down to see Shepard behind us, closing in on foot.

Then we were under its legs. It made loud mechanical whirring sounds and deafening roars, definitely distressed by whatever we were doing down here. We were in a circular pit, with only three exits. Two of them, to the sides of the exit, led to some sort of big structures. Shepard made it through the entrance and immediately darted to the right.

There was a crashing sound and I looked to the left to see no less than six brutes descending the opposite of the pit towards Shepard.

"Open fire!" I yelled.

April let loose with the gunfire as I fired my own weapon, doing minimal damage but at least helping. the brutes roared up at us, outraged that we were out of their reach. Then a lucky hit from April caught a brute in the face as it roared at us, blowing its head off. I sighted in on another one, but Errahe juked to the side to avoid the Destroyer's leg.

"Boss." Allison said, sounding stressed, "I can't keep him busy much longer up here."

"I know." I replied as we leveled back out. April poured fire into a second brute, tearing flesh off of its skeleton until it was nothing more than a pile of bones. I heard a deep thud and turned back to see the structure Shepard had been approaching had moved, somewhere. I ignored it and got back to the fighting, confident that she knew what she was doing. Barin abandoned his turret and walked over to April's side, hefting his Mattock.

His weapon and mine managed to bring down a third brute and then we had to dodge again. He was nearly thrown out of the craft, but managed to hook and arm around April's turret and pull himself back in.

I looked back down to see Shepard and her crew slip past a brute that April was keeping busy. Another swung at Shepard and felt my heart nearly stop, but she ducked under the swing and kept moving towards the other structure. The brute made to follow her, but Barin and I started firing at its legs, slowing it down.

Shepard found herself in front of the last brute and this time, she didn't evade it. She simply brought the shotgun up and shredded its head, bringing it to the ground. I felt myself awed by the woman, but didn't let it affect me as we kept up the pace, keeping the last two away from her. She hit a panel in front of the structure and it dropped some sort of weight from the top, slamming it into the ground with the same dull thud I'd heard earlier. Shepard and her team started towards the Shroud, ignoring the brutes completely as April brought down a fifth brute.

_What's going on?_I wondered.

"Christ!" I heard Allison yell over our radio. "Boss, get away from the Destroyer! Now!"

From the tone of her voice, something had spooked her and spooked her pretty well. I didn't know what the problem was, but I trusted her enough to use correct judgement in these kinds of situations. I gave Lia'Vael a nod and he pushed the shuttle to full speed, shooting us out from under the Reaper. We put some distance between us, then turned to see what the problem was.

"Spirits..." I whispered.

We all watched through the cockpit window as a Thresher Maw emerged from the sand around the Reaper's feet. This Thresher Maw was enormous, easily as long as the Shroud was tall. Its long, elongated body propelled it forward from the ground as it opened its wide mouth and caught the Reaper with it.

"Yeah!" I yelled, "Get it!"

The Reaper swung to the side and slammed the Thresher Maw into the Shroud, visibly shaking the building. It tried to fire on the gigantic Thresher Maw, but Kalros retreated into the ground, trailed by the Reaper's laser. It stumbled around, looking for a target, just as Kalros shot up from the ground behind it and slammed the Reaper.

The Destroyer's legs weren't strong enough to keep it up and it was slammed into the ground with enough force that I could feel it up here. With an audible hiss, the Thresher Maw curled around it and slowly dragged it into the ground with the gratifying clash and scream of destroyed metal.

The shuttle was silent, all of us in awe after seeing the two titans duke it out.

"So..." Barin said, his tone reverant, "That happened."

Cheering sounded throughout the shuttle and I heard Wrex's voice emanate from the comms system.

"Welcome to Tuchunka, asshole." He rumbled, sounding pleased.

"Commander, Wrex." I reported, "We're going to join the main battle. We'll see you all when it's over."

"Don't you dare die on me, turian." He growled menacingly. "When we pull this off, you have one hell of a party to attend, tonight."

I smiled as we headed back towards the originals ruins. It seemed like the fight was still going in full force, with neither side backing down. As we neared, I looked for the Mako and spotted it, right up front with a line of krogan under cover and tearing through Reaper forces.

"Land us down there." I ordered Lia'Vael. "You're a champion, by the way."

"Thank you, Colonel." She said, doing as I asked and putting the Kodiak down next to the Mako. I looked back at Errahe.

"You comfortable being out here?"

"No qualms with krogan." He said. I just nodded and unstrapped myself from the chair, getting out of my seat. When I debarked the craft, I noticed that the krogan seemed to have stalled a little as the bitter fight went on and the Reaper forces left had dug in. They all looked at me in surprise.

Bodies positively littered the sand and rock of this massive ruins. Krogans had fallen all around us, some with Reapers still clutched in their hands. The Reapers had lost their share, too. Their twisted and deformed bodies were still clawing out at their attackers, trying to kill even in death. There were maybe a hundred krogan left of the thousand that had been brought here, but the ten thousand the Reaper had spawned were nearly destroyed. Sun baked the blood strewn around the battlefield and as gunfire and explosions filled my ears, blood and guts filled my nose.

I looked around to the grim krogan, who were watching me expectantly. I noticed Akas, a female krogan dressed in blue robes, among them. She was Krieg's mate and as expected, she was covered in the Reapers' grey gore.

"The Reaper has been brought down!" I yelled. The cheer that came up from the krogan could've put a Reaper to shame. "Now let's win this Spirits-forsaken battle!"

The krogan surged forward, roaring battle cries and firing at everything that moved wrong. They didn't even notice Errahe and the rest of my crew climb out of the Kodiak and join in the rush towards the remaining Reaper lines. Rounds skimmed over my head as I moved to the Mako. I saw Eryc taking cover behind it as it fired. I supposed they wanted to maximize the damage, so one of them had climbed out to add their weapon to the fray.

"Good job, Eryc!" I yelled, getting the attention of the mountain-sized human. "We're going to win this one, ea-"

My words were cut off when a sudden explosion drove me to my knees. I felt disoriented, dizzy and nauseous all at once. I glanced up to see Eryc fending off a vaguely turian shape with clear desperation. Whoever it was was fast and very good at hand-to-hand combat. The turian moved to hit Eryc in the face and Eryc absorbed the blow, moving forward and putting the turian in a bear hug. He hooked his calf around the turian's legs and sent them both toppling to the ground.

As I recovered my feet, I noticed the krogans on the front line had already pushed past us, leaving the struggle unnoticed. Errahe and the others were also up with them, unfortunately. That left us without support.

_Dammit._

The turian threw Eryc off of him and raised up to his feet. I finally got a good glimpse of our assailant. Black face, white markings and built solid enough that I instantly guessed him to be the Spectre that had been mentioned by Sparatus earlier. For the first time, I used the boosters on my armor to propel myself forward as the Spectre drew his sidearm to finish Eryc off. He didn't even see me coming as I slammed into him. He dug in and wrapped his arms around me, stopping my momentum thoroughly.

"Eryc!" I heard Urre's tinny yell. I looked past our deadlocked forms to see Urre toss Eryc a pistol that had been lying on the ground. I once again felt an impossible gratitude to the salarian reporter for going above and beyond his duties as a combat reporter and possibly saving my life.

Rounds suddenly started bouncing off of his armor as Eryc regained his feet and fired, managing enough accuracy to avoid hitting me. The turian looked at me with murderous blue eyes, just before he let go and dashed away, returning fire accurately enough that he forced our heads down. Eryc moved to go after him, but I stopped him.

"No." I told him, shaking my head.

"Thank you, sir." Eryc said, "Bastard almost had me."

"Major Varyss Enyii." I guessed, remembering the name from what Sparatus had told me. "Indoctrinated Spectre."

"I tangled with a Spectre and survived?" Eryc wondered, "I can finally one-up Allison."

I was about to answer, but heard a cheer and turned to see the last two of the Reapers forces utterly annihilated by Errahe's dual Locusts. One of the krogan slapped him on the back fondly, nearly knocking Errahe into the dirt.

Then it began to snow.

"Snow?" Eryc wondered.

I looked up to find little white flakes of something dropping to the ground. I caught one in my hand and looked at it.

"It's not snow." I said with a smile as my team and the remainder of the krogan approached. I looked up at all of the krogan, who were watching me curiously.

"Krogan!" a mighty bellow emerged from the doors to the ruins. We all turned and I finally got to see Urdnot Wrex.

I had thought Krieg was big, but Wrex was even bigger. His yellow skin was practically scored with scars and marks of battle and red slitted eyes gazed around at the company-sized element of krogan left over from the battle. He was wearing crimson armor, the color of most species' blood, that matched the scored plate on top of his head. He spotted me and gave me a brief nod before looking at the rest of the krogan.

"We are but a small few of the strength of Clan Urdnot!" He yelled, "But we have fought well today. We have ended a Reaper, we have ended their extinction and best..."

He pointed towards the Shroud, but I couldn't see it there anymore. What had happened to it?

"We have freed our species from fifteen hundred years of doom! The Genophage is no longer!"

The roar that went up this time forced me to put my hands over my ears.

_Over a thousand years of slow extinction._I thought to myself.

"But we did not do this alone." Wrex told the group. "Two turians, three humans, three salarians, a batarian, an asari and a quarian joined me on this mission. Most of those used to be our enemies, but no more. We will have peace with the other species. I know you want revenge, but warring with the Council has brought us nothing but misery and the galaxy has made it up to us by offering their toughest soldiers to get us this cure. Now, I want to pave a path that will make our Ancestors proud. So still your rage and save it! Tonight, we will feast and we will drink and we will honor the fallen. Then tomorrow..."

He glanced over and I saw Shepard emerge from behind him.

"Tomorrow, we go to Menae and to Palaven!" He he exclaimed, his voice nearly drowned out by the roars around us all "And we join in the greatest war this galaxy has ever seen! The Reapers will know terror as krogan blood and strength turn the tide!"

The bellows of blood-lust shook the entire ruins and I couldn't help my smile. It always seemed like every time a krogan was mentioned in my life, it was always bad. It was astonishing and gratifying to have been here, helping a doomed species break free of their fate and face their redemption with courage.

Wrex started down the steps towards me as the krogan around him began picking up after the dead, clear intentions on his face.

"HA!" I heard a rough voice exclaim, right before I was picked up off of my feet and crushed in the arms of a massive krogan. "You came through, you mangy goddamn bird!"

"Watch it!" I yelled, feeling pain in my abdomen, "I have stitches down there."

I was released and turned to find Urdnot Krieg behind me. The big krogan hadn't changed much, a wide grin on his face as he looked down at me with mean orange eyes. He was adorned with the same black armor he'd been wearing when we picked him up on Omega three years ago, dented in and scratched all to hell. A black plate on his head was scratched and scored and I even saw a fresh bullet hole there, but that didn't stop him. The Claymore that had been modified for him by Henry was held in his bloodied hands.

"I knew you'd come through for us, Roluck." He laughed. "Over a thousand years of anger and pain and you just helped us climb out of it."

"It was mostly Shepard."

"I couldn't have done it without you guys." She answered behind me. I turned to the human Spectre. I realized that this was the first time we'd met in person. I foudn it almost humorous that as tall and menacing as I could be, something in her eyes instantly informed me that I'd regret ever crossing this woman. This close, I could see the faint red cybernetics tracing across her face. "We have to go, but I wanted to thank you for your help."

She held out a hand and I felt my mandibles raise up in a grin as I took her hand in mine and shook it.

"You tell Garrus to get in a few shots for me, alright?" I asked her.

I noticed the smile that spread across her face when his name was mentioned.

"Oh, I will." She said, "Wrex, I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Shepard." He replied with a nod. Then he looked back at me."Colonel, you just helped me pull off a miracle that has saved our entire species. Now, Palaven and Menae will be joined by krogan troops by the end of tomorrow. We may not turn the tide of this war, but we'll sure as hell make sure the Reapers have something to talk about."

"Glad to hear it, Wrex."

"Also," He said, "My cousin Wreav was killed in the attack, which means I'm putting Krieg in his spot as my second-in-command. I'll oversee the rebuilding here and the battles during the counterattack, but he'll be coordinating strategies from Menae and Palaven on your ship."

"Good." I said, glad to hear that we would have him back.

"Now." He said, smiling warmly (If a little menacingly), "Shepard can't join us, but I'll extend the same offer to you that I did her. Clan Urdnot would be honored to have the same warriors who helped us cure the Genophage join our celebrations tonight."

I thought about it for a moment, weighing my options. On the one hand, we might end up fighting with the krogan and we had work to do. On the other...

Ever since Henry's mother had died, I'd noticed a subtle shift in morale. We still had hope, but seeing our own crew beat down and broken didn't help things. They needed a morale boost and personally, I think we all needed some rest. Between trips to the Citadel and missions and battles, we hadn't slept in about three days.

"We'll be there, Wrex." I assured him, "Thank you."

"No." The massive krogan rumbled as all eyes turned to us. "Thank you."

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group**_  
_**First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army**_  
_**Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**April Janson - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Me****dical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_  
_**Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships**_


	73. Chapter 73

"We all ready to go?" I asked, looking behind me.

The entire crew of the Vengeance looked at me, some of them not even hiding the anxiety they felt. I understood their concerns. Racism between the krogans and...well...every Councils species except humans was ingrained and honestly, well-founded. The galactic community as a whole had watched them die off for over a thousand years and done little to stop it.

Though I doubted that the krogan were really thinking about it, I could easily guess that Wrex had forced everyone's hand into a cure. This was the one time since the Krogan Rebellions that the krogan had a card to play and Wrex had played it the best way he could. It had been a risky gamble, but it had clearly paid off.

At the very least, I was reasonably certain that Wrex would keep things from coming to blows. We'd helped his people more than anyone in the last fifteen-hundred years and we didn't even have a personal stake in it, like Shepard did.

Still, I'd directed a worn out but excited Allison to land on the barren planet, near Urdnot's compound. I couldn't help but notice that it looked a lot bigger than it had when we'd come here three years ago to rescue Krieg's daughter.

I strode out onto the landing pad first and looked around. This entire 'landing pad' was a massive slab of concrete with walls seemingly built of of rubble and twisted steel. The sun was going down, casting an orange glow and shadows across everything.

I could almost smell the excitement in the air. Instead of hulking, grim warriors on edge, I found us surrounded by krogan with smiles so wide it was amazing their heads didn't simply split in two. The conversations around us had an upbeat tone to them and hands weren't constantly falling to guns.

I was seeing hope where I least expected it.

Some of us had changed into dress uniforms or casual attire. I hadn't set a standardized uniform for this, merely telling everyone to go in whatever they felt comfortable in. I knew the krogan, so I knew that anything less than full armor and weapons would be unimpressive to them. Most of the Zeta had gotten that, too.

A full company of heavily armed krogan stood in front of me as the rest of my crew came down the ramp of the shuttle bay. They looked at us without judgement and without anger. I recognized a few of them from the battle and realized that these were the same krogan I'd fought alongside at the end of this afternoon.

At their head was Krieg, who was grinning widely as he approached.

"We're to be your honor guard, Roluck." He told me.

"Honor guard?" I asked, very surprised.

"Of the people who helped saved our race?" He asked, looking surprised that I'd even asked, "Sure."

"Then lead on, Krieg."

I waved my people forward and we all moved as one, with the krogan forming up around us with practiced ease. When we got to a doorway, we filed off in pairs, one of us with a krogan. Not much to my surprise, I got matched up with Krieg.

"How's Akas?" I asked, "She looked like she'd done her fair share this afternoon."

"She did." He agreed with a predatory smile, "Over two dozen, from what my brothers told me."

He glanced over at me as we took a left and into a dark hallway crowded with concrete and pipes.

"She's impressed as hell by us, Roluck." He said, "STT Zeta, out fixing all the problems in the galaxy."

"Next to Shepard, we're nothing." I scoffed.

"Different strengths." Krieg grunted as we disappeared into the darkness of the hall, "We don't broker treaties and end conflicts by yelling like she does. Whereas she does the surgical, precise strikes, we go out there and kick ass so hard that we fix the big problems through sheer brute strength."

_He had a point._

"I'm hoping we can all get along tonight." I said aloud. "I know Wrex promised us a safe night, but after a few barrels of Ryncol..."

"You've earned more respect than you realize, Roluck." He said quietly. "Your homeworld burns right now and your people are slowly being ground into dust, despite the fight they're putting up. Exactly like us and the Genophage. If...say...a few krogan came in and helped save your entire species, would you care which species they were or what their angle was? No matter how much you hated them?"

That argument gave me pause. I always forgot how smart and perceptive Krieg was. I wasn't used to it, from a krogan.

Even more surprising, I was pretty sure Wrex was even more shrewd and clever than Krieg, despite his brute strength.

"I wouldn't care." I finally admitted.

"That's exactly how we feel, Roluck." He replied. "These krogan here will vouch for all of you. It'll be enough that you'll be treated with respect, even after a few drinks."

"Good."

We filed out of the dark hallway and into a scene that stole the breath from my lungs.

The hall we were in was massive, with the banners of all the clans hanging from the well-constructed cement walls. There were gaps in the walls, clearly intended to be windows, that filtered in the dusky sunlight from outside. Table had been set up through the hall, dozens of long tables meant to seat hundreds. At the end of the hall were six smaller tables that seated dozens. Clearly, that was the VIP section.

The tables had been set with food and drink. The food was primarily meat, probably Varren. Female krogan were waking in between the tables, putting food down before taking seats themselves, but I noticed that nobody had started eating yet.

Krogans had already gathered, thousands of them filling the tables. Every single one of them looked at us as we entered and stared as everyone filed out behind me. I was unsure of what to do next as the laughter and conversation in the hall slowed, then stopped as every eye turned towards us.

I felt a little uneasy as I felt tension filling the hall.

Up at the head tables, what seemed like a mile away, Wrex stood from his chair.

"Urdnot!" He yelled in his deep bass voice, echoing through he hall, "Allow me to introduce the crew of the _SSV Vengeance_ and Special Tasks Team Zeta! This afternoon, they stood alongside us in the air and on the ground, assisting us in destroying the Reaper and its forces! Tonight, we honor them as we honor our victory!"

Their was cheering through the hall, though it seemed almost suspicious. Still, I guess it was as warm a greeting as I could expect from thousands of krogan.

"Colonel Vether!" Wrex yelled, looking at me from across the hall, "Join us up here! Everyone else, let's eat!"

The conversation and laughter started up as thousands of warriors-each of which I would have extreme difficulty putting down in hand to hand combat-turned from us and began eating. Krieg gestured with his head for me to follow him. I did so as we skirted around the tables, my crew following right behind me.

We headed for a seat at the table next to Wrex's, who stopped me with a hand around my arm before I could move past him. Henry gave him a look and I just nodded for him to continue on. He did so, taking a seat at the table. As the rest of the crew followed his example, I looked down at Wrex.

"Kick back for a night, Colonel." He rumbled, "I know there are people dying out there, but you helped achieve the impossible. You and your crew have earned it. You are under my personal protection, tonight."

"Glad to hear it, Clan Leader." I replied.

I took a seat next to Henry and Lena.

"Everything alright?" Henry asked, his face implying no trace of humor.

"Just wanted to thank us." I assured him.

A trio of krogan women brought us our food. I was surprised to find Lena had been supplied with simple paste and I had been given a full dextro-amino meal. I looked to Krieg in surprise.

"When I heard you were coming, I stocked up." He explained with a shrug.

"Thanks, Krieg." I said, before biting into my steak.

The dinner was...entertaining, to say the least. I didn't speak much, until I noticed one krogan that seemed rather isolated from the rest. He sat at his own table, with nobody around him. It didn't seem to bother him in the least, to my surprise.

The krogan was bigger than Krieg, though not quite the size of Wrex. He had ice-colored eyes that glared around with a ferocity that I doubted even Krieg possessed. He wore thick silver armor with some sort of blue core in the middle. The plate on his head wasn't even fully formed.

"Who's that?" I asked, nodding at the krogan as Krieg followed my graze.

"Ah." He muttered. I noticed he seemed a little sorrowful for the krogan, which was an incredibly rare emotion from him. "Urdnot Grunt. Genetically engineered krogan who was a companion of Shepard's. He's the commander of Arlakh Company, the most elite krogan unit we have. That bastard is really tough, though I suppose it's no surprise, considering who he calls Battlemaster."

"Why's he eating alone?" I wondered.

"His entire unit was killed a couple days ago in an incident with the rachni and Shepard." Krieg explained. "Only he survived, buying Shepard time and killing off at least a dozen ravagers before both escaped. He came out just in time to catch a ride back home with Shepard."

"Damn." I muttered.

"He only commands respect from the higher ups and his unit." Krieg explained. "He's literally only a year old and since he was born in a tank, many feel that his strength isn't earned."

"How do you feel?" I wondered.

Krieg just shrugged.

"He can shoot better than most krogan, he's as strong as a Thresher Maw and he has the courage of an asari stripper who's spotted a wealthy salarian." Krieg replied, "Where that strength and courage comes from is no concern of mine."

I looked over at Eryc, who was whispering something in Allison's ear.

"Hey Eryc!" I yelled. He looked over at me in askance. "You're a living tank. Go get that krogan over there to eat with us."

The big human looked over to where I was pointing and a grin spread across his face.

"Sure thing, sir."

As he stood, Krieg looked at me.

"I doubt Grunt will want to join."

"You know Eryc, Krieg." I snorted, "He'll get the guy over here."

"True enough, I guess." Krieg admitted.

Sure enough, within moments, Eryc had fetched the krogan back, who looked completely out of his depth. Still, he sat next to Lena.

"A quarian, huh?" He asked, looking over at her. "I don't suppose you know Tali'Zorah va-"

"I know her." Lena confirmed. "One of the few people on our fleet with any talent. Or sense."

"Are you some sort of engineer?"

"I'm an Admiral."

"Of ships?"

"Of the Migrant Fleet Marines." She replied.

"How many people did you kill to get there?"

"Enough geth to fill up this hall." She answered crossly, clearly not pleased with the interrogation. "There are also more than a few krogan that I've left with a shogun blast through their plates."

The threat was clear enough and I froze, instantly ready to intervene. To my relief, though, the big krogan just laughed that krogan belly laugh.

"I like you, quarian." He said, "And I think my Battlemaster would, too."

"It's Lena." She said, "And thank you."

I zoned out then, more concerned with my meal than anything. That was, until Grunt and Eryc started an arm-wrestling match. I was sure Eryc would be done in an instant, until the round began and he slowly began to push the krogan's arm down to the table.

"I got twenty on Eryc!" Alison called out, looking pleased with herself.

"I'll take that." I told her. "Twenty on Grunt."

The krogan looked at me and gave me a grin as everyone started betting on Eryc.

"Hey Grunt." I said as the krogan fought Eryc to a standstill, "I'll split my winnings with you."

And that was when the tables turned. Slowly, Eryc's arm descended towards the table, until he was hovering just above it. Grunt seemed tired, but Eryc's face was red and he was sweating. Finally, with a gasp of release, he let his muscles relax as his hand was slammed to the table.

"I'll take your credits, now." I told everyone. There was groaning as my crew started throwing credit chits my way. I eyeballed the pile and gave half to Grunt.

"How did you know I'd win, Colonel?" He asked.

"Redundant nervous system." Was my answer. "Eryc's strong, but he can't catch a second wind like the krogan do."

"You cheated!" April yelled in mock indignation.

"I played the odds." I argued.

There was another few minutes of me eating quietly until I found myself drawn into another conversation.

"So, I've always been curious," She started, looking at Henry, "What's after this, Henry?"

It was a clear attempt to brighten the somber Marine's mood, but bless her for trying.

"After...the war?" He asked. He looked at Lena. "Well, we're getting married and being bondmates, since they're roughly equatable. Then we're thinking about children."

"I didn't think you could have children." Grunt asked, seeming confused.

"Genetic science has come a long way." Henry answered with a small smile. "We've been in touch with a geneticist who can extract DNA from both of us and have a child born with both of our DNA."

"How many are you planning on?" April asked, grinning conspiratorially.

"We've agreed on four." Lena replied. "Two human, two quarian. The geneticist assures us it can be done."

"And where do you want to move?" April asked.

"Wherever she does." Henry replied, gesturing to Lena. Lena put an arm around him and I heard 'aww'ing from all the female members of the crew.

"What a pussy." I heard Krieg mutter next to me. "Gah! What, Akas?"

I carefully concealed my grin.

"I don't get it." Grunt said, seeming honestly confused. "Are you like...a poet or something?"

"No." Henry replied, equally confused. "I'm a sniper."

"But you're so soft."

There was laughter around the table this time and Grunt didn't seem to know why.

"What?" he asked.

"And you, Allison?" April continued.

"Hell," Allison muttered, "We just want to make it through this war. After that, we'll see."

"How's Alicia?" I asked Eryc.

"She's got three more weeks of training, the she's awaiting orders." Eryc replied with a wide smile as he rubbed the tension out of his arm, "If she keeps on like she's doing, she'll graduate at the top of her class. I've sent a request that she be stationed with the Fifth Fleet. We'll see how that goes."

"There's something to be damn proud of." I said.

"I am." He agreed.

April looked at Krieg, but he answered before she could even ask.

"We're gonna pop out a million children."

"Fair enough." April said, before looking at Enua.

"Asari don't exactly marry." Enua said, "But I'm thinking of retiring to Illium with Aulra."

Finally, April looked at me.

"And you, Colonel?"

I noticed a slightly different pitch in her voice when she asked me, as if she was wondering something else entirely. I couldn't help but notice that everyone seemed fixated on me, very interested in the answer.

_Are there rumors going around the ship or something?_

"I..." I started, not sure how to answer the question. It'd been asked before and here I was, a month and a half later, with no answer. "I...uhh..."

"Please." Henry scoffed next to me. "Roluck's going to find out where the Reapers live when the war is over and start beating them to death with his bare hands."

Everyone around the table laughed and optimistic conversation about the war began.

"Thanks." I muttered to Henry.

"Yeah." He grunted.

I felt like an outsider, here. Everyone here had their hopes and inspirations after this war while I just sat around feeling like I was dragging everyone else down. Even Grunt mentioned how many breeding requests he'd gotten after killing a Thresher Maw and I suddenly felt that I really needed to leave.

"I-uh...I have to go." I announced. Everyone looked at me, surprised. "I need to check up on our status. If there are missions for tomorrow, I'm going to need to do some planning."

"What?" April asked, "You can't go."

"Why not?"

"Because..." She trialed off, unable to give a good reason.

"Exactly." I told them, "I'm sure I'll make it to the ship alright. Henry, you got 'em."

"Yep."

I clapped Krieg on the shoulder on the way by and stopped just long enough to tickle Bikir under the plate on her stomach before walking away from the table. I approached Wrex last.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Wrex." I said, drawing the older krogan's attention. "But I have to leave. In case we have an op tomorrow that I need to plan."

"You turians." Wrex grunted, "Never know how to have fun. Well, thanks again, Colonel. You'll always be welcome on sunny Tuchunka."

I nodded to him and left, quietly skirting around the tables. Drunken krogans were boasting and telling tales and talking about their mates all around the hall. I felt that small anxiety growing, twisting in my chest.

When I got to the ship, I was relieved that nobody else had come aboard. I quietly headed for the elevator, but instead of going to the War Room, I pressed the button for the crew deck.

My office was as empty as I had left it and I sat down in the chair and turned my terminal on. It wasn't long before I was reaching for the whiskey and filling up a glass. I saw a request from Councilor Tevos about a couple thousand stranded asari commandos and decided we do that in a couple days. Apparently, they were stuck behind enemy lines on a planet called Virmire, but were holed up so heavily that the reaper ground forces weren't coming near without a Destroyer. Which gave us a few days.

After my sixth drink, I stopped lying to myself and quit planning the op.

After the tenth one and two attempts to stand, I decided that it was time to go to sleep. I stood from my desk and somehow managed to stumble into the elevator, where I leaned against the wall until I got all the way down to the berthing. After closely reading every plaque, I found mine and spent a full two minutes trying to enter the code.

"Allow me to assist you, Colonel." I heard a voice say. Anna. How long had she been watching me?

The door to my room slid open and I was surprised to see her little hologram standing on the table across from my bed. As I laid down groggily, I looked at her.

"Thanks, Anna." I slurred. "That's all I really needed."

I was surprised when she didn't leave and her next words sounded...hesitant?

"If you don't mind, Colonel," She said, scuffing her feet in a remarkably human gesture, "I'd like to keep my hologram here. Lena'Zuril has told me that organics don't enjoy being alone during times of stress. Your stress levels and heart rate are elevated well above that of a normal turian even when you're in rest, so I believe it would help if you had company."

I thought about telling her to just go do whatever she did on the ship, but I realized that not only was the holograph looking earnest, but even her voice was. If I was being honest with myself, I'd welcome the company. Anything not to spend yet another drunken night alone.

"I'd...appreciate that, Anna." I finally said.

"And...I appreciate you letting me." She said, sounding uncertain.

Those were the last words I remembered before my mind went blissfully dark.

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group_**  
**_First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army_**  
**_Corporal Eryc Flynt - Human, Alliance Marines_**  
**_April Janson - Human, Contracted_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted_**  
**_Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**

**_Zeta Galactic Assets:_**  
**_Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops_**  
**_Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops_**  
**_Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs_**  
**_Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought_**  
**_Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops_**  
**_Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships_**


	74. Chapter 74

I watched the monitor in amusement as Lena's segment came on.

Since we'd left Tuchunka, we'd hit the Citadel and acquired some new weapons, as well as some new armoring for Barin. After that, I'd poured over reports from the asari commandos on the current situation, troop placement and other such information. Nobody had told them we were coming, so it'd be nice to surprise them.

As for the reports from Iri'Lesh, there was good news and bad news. The good news was that people were signing up in droves. The bad news was that a lot of them were slaves looking to get away from their owners. Aria was handling the politics of that nightmare, while Barin coordinated with batarians and slaves alike through the Vengeance.

I had made a serious note to speak to Admiral Hackett and Hegemony leadership about freeing those slaves once the war was over. I wasn't a batarian and the very thought of sending slaves to battle made me want to retch. However, I didn't exactly have a lot of options.

But now, a day later, I'd decided to relax for a moment before getting back to it. Lena had been interviewed and her segment was coming up, along with footage from Tuchunka.

"You really don't have to watch this with me." Lena assured me.

"Well Henry's not here." April told her with a shrug, shifting on the lounge couch next to Lena, "Somebody has to make fun of you and knock you down a few pegs."

"Bosh'tet."

"Oh, there you are." I said, pointing to the screen.

A picture of her was super-imposed on the screen, with the little GNN icon in the bottom left of the screen.

"This is Urre Imun, reporting once again from The SSV Vengeance." Urre's voice said, "Today, I will be showing you my interview with Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance, along with an incredible showdown between titans on Tuchunka."

The video morphed into the lounge we currently sat in. Lena was framed against the window, looking incredibly uncomfortable in front of the camera. She was wringing her hands nervously. I heard April choking back a laugh.

"Don't worry about the camera, Admiral." Urre said, "Just talk to me. Pretend it's not there."

That's much easier said than done. I thought to myself, having already done one of these interviews.

"Now lets get right to it." He said, "Without getting into too much detail, you're in charge of the quarian Marines, correct?"

"Yes." She answered. She didn't elaborate further.

"That's you." I pointed out, just to annoy her.

"Bosh'tet." She grumbled.

"How did you get that job?"

"I...applied." She replied lamely. I felt a smile spreading on my face.

_Spirits, she's terrible at this._

"I've heard stories that you beat an entire platoon of your own Marines to get the job." He said, "Is this rumor true?"

"Why does everyone keep asking about that?" She said, "I'm not the only person in the galaxy that's done it."

"Yes." Urre agreed, sounding amused, "Others have. Infantry companies and mercenary teams and...gunships."

"Oh, my." One of the human crew who was nearby pitched in.

"Can we change the subject?" Lena asked on the screen.

"Why are the quarians staying out of this war?"

"Can we change the subject again?"

"You're really bad at this 'interview' thing." April informed her.

"Shut up." She growled.

"Let's try this one:" Urre said, "Quarians are notoriously elusive and rare in Council space. As a result, the galactic community don't mix well with quarians and vice versa. So hearing about a mixed couple other than turian and quarian is quite rare. What would you say to our vie-"

"Yeah, I know where you're going with this." She interrupted, stopping Urre in the middle of his sentence, "Look, Henry and I have gotten a lot of strange looks and incredulous questions, but you want to know something? I don't care. We both love each other and that's not going to change. People are so damn touchy about everything these days. Galaxy's blowing up and all people care about when they meet us is our love life, not all the work we've done to stop the Reapers. Bosh'tets."

"Finally," April said, "Some attitude!"

"Uh..." Urre said, clearly thrown off a little by her attitude, "In that vein, you've been voted by a lot of people as the single most formidable soldier that's not of a Council species. You even managed to beat out the legendary Urdnot Wrex. Thoughts?"

"I'm kind of embarrassed about that-" Lena said, visibly fidgeting.

"Keelah..." Lena muttered next to me, putting her helmet in both hands and shaking it back and forth. I could barely keep my laughter contained. I looked over at April to see her lips seemingly glued shut as her face slowly turned red.

"I think it was all started by that video of our mission to take a Reaper artifact, before the war." She said, "Honestly, that brute was worn down between me and Ilna. There wasn't much left to do."

"You climbed on top of it." Urre pointed out. "It could crush you with one hand and you climbed on top of it, put your pistol to its skull and blew its head off. Those things have been known to take out an entire squad."

"I've done more than that, honestly." She said on the screen. Then her movement stopped when she realized what she'd done.

"Please, share." Urre said.

"Oh great." April muttered, "Now she gets to brag about herself."

"Well," Lena said, "I took down another brute on Eden Prime and blew a banshee's hand off before it could kill Eryc, but you were there for that. Then there was the time on Illium, when we recruiting Eryc, that I blew a krogan's plate off in a pit that's meant for fighting. At least, that's what he said."

"An-" Urre started, but Lena was on a roll.

"I also negotiated a deal between Clan Enute and the Council that ended with the vorcha joining the Citadel species." She continued, clearly not paying attention to Urre anymore. "Then there was the mission to Nan'Dir where I got 'captured' by batarian slavers and helped the prisoners break out as the base was attacked-"

"Admiral." Urre interrupted firmly, drawing her attention. "What, in all of that, is going to convince everyone that you're not the badass that the publication declares you to be? Especially considering your involvement in the battle for Asteria, Eden Prime, the Citadel and Operation Downed Curtain?"

"Downed Curtain?" April asked.

"The name for the battle with Vanguard." I answered.

"Ah." She replied. I looked over to see Lena with her helmet buried in her hands.

"I...I don't know." Lena replied on screen.

"Last thoughts?" He asked.

"Um..." She muttered, "I don't really have any?"

"Alright." Urre said on screen with forced cheer, "This is Urre Iman, reporting from the SSV Vengeance. Following this will be-"

Lena turned the monitor off with a long finger and looked at the two of us.

"So?" She asked, clearly wanting our opinions.

I looked at April, whose fist was buried in her mouth in an attempt to stop from laughing. Judging from the color of her face, it wasn't working. I was barely containing myself, as it was.

"It-" April managed to say, just before she gave up and started laughing hysterically.

Seeing her laugh made me laugh. The two of us just cackled as Lena stood in front of us, her body language telling me she was indignant.

"Seriously, Lena," I started, "Get lessons. Or something. Spirits, it was like watching someone drown."

"You bosh'tets!" She started, but we were interrupted by a familiar synthetic voice.

"Colonel." Anna said, "You're needed in the shuttle bay immediately. There's a problem between Barin and Eryc."

We all looked at each other for a brief moment, then I shot up off the couch and headed for the door with Lena and April right behind me. In moments, we were in the elevator and I impatiently kept pressing on the display for the shuttle bay.

"It's not going to go any faster, Roluck." Lena said, sounding just as nervous as I felt.

"This better not come to blows." I muttered anxiously, just before the door opened.

_Great._ I thought as I observed the scene before me. _This is much worse._

Barin was backed up against the side of the Mako, his hands up in surrender as Eryc pointed his pistol directly at the batarian's face. Henry was standing at the weapons bench, his SMG up and pointed at Eryc. Next to the elevator, I saw Enua with her Vindicator trained on Eryc. Lia'Vael had her pistol out and was holding it on Eryc, as well, though everyone knew she wouldn't take a shot. Some of the turian crew had been present during this confrontation and were backed up against the Kodiak, trying to stay out of everyone's way.

"-rious Eryc." Henry was saying as I walked in. "Don't do this."

Eryc looked at me and I could see the anger on his face. Anger and desperation. I realized, very suddenly, that he was reliving whatever the batarians had done to him.

"Eryc." I reasoned quietly, as placating as I could be. "What the hell is going on?"

Barin glanced over at me before looking back at the gigantic human.

"I got word from the Citadel News." He said, "Said the army we picked up in the batarian colonies are mostly slaves. Slaves like I'd been. Slaves to these goddamn monsters!"

This was very bad. Eryc had been one of those slaves, when he'd been younger. Worse, his sister had been recaptured in recent memory and repeatedly raped before we'd been able to break her out. Add that to the stress of this war, along with the makeup of the batarian army we'd gotten and this was one really nasty situation.

_I was too busy worrying about myself and about my problems,_ I realized. _Spirits...this might be my fault._

That voice again. I ignored it, knowing it was right as I stared at this standoff.

"They want to be freed, Colonel!" Eryc yelled, the sudden yell startling Barin a little and making him jump. "And they're not going to be freed, are they? After the war, they go right back where they came from, don't they?"

"Eryc." I said, stepping forward slowly and calmly, "That's Barin under the barrel of your gun, right now. He's fought by your side for months, now. He's your friend and comrade."

"No, no." Eryc replied, shaking his head, "He's not my friend. He's one of them! The same people who would see me put back in chains."

"Eryc!" Barin yelled right back, "I'm disgusted by the slavery trade and you know that!"

"And yet you're coordinating the slaves you feel so bad for into battle," Eryc sneered, his lip curling in anger, "Aren't you?"

_Oh, shit._

I went cold as I realized exactly why Eryc had Barin under his gun. He didn't hate Barin and he probably would prefer not to kill him. It was because he wanted to sabotage this 'alliance'. With Barin dead, we'd be forced to tell the colonies what happened, which would lead to a backlash against the idea of recruitment. We'd lose troops, supplies, pilots and supply lines. All to free the slaves in the army we'd picked up.

_It's the right thing to do._ I thought to myself, _It's just...not a loss we can take._

"Eryc." Henry said quietly, his voice warning. "I will shoot you. You know that. Don't make me do it, Eryc."

"Eryc," Lena said from behind me, "Think of your sister. Would she want to step in here right now and see you like this?"

_No, Lena, don't say that._

It would've been a powerful argument...had his sister not been abused repeatedly by batarian slavers in the last six months. Which Eryc had seen the results of first-hand.

"Eryc." Enua said to my right, her very tone a warning.

Eryc started to lower the gun and I let out a breath I hadn't been holding.

"No." He said suddenly bringing the pistol back up. "Fuck this. I can't be a part of this!"

"No!" I yelled, but it was too late. A string of gunfire rang out through the bay and Eryc's head suddenly snapped to the side, a mess of blood and bone.

The gigantic human crumpled to the ground, dead before his body even completed the journey.

Silence rang out through the shuttle bay as I reeled with shock, almost unable to comprehend what had just happened. Henry was shaking, the SMG still in his hand as thin wisps of smoke lazily drifted from the barrel and up towards the ceiling.

"I..." Henry started, "No..."

"Why didn't you just disable him?!" Lena yelled, her voice louder than the gunshot.

I just stood there, with no idea what to do.

"He-he could've still shot Barin." Henry muttered. I wasn't sure if he was talking to Lena or himself.

"Henry." Barin said uncertainly, looking as surprised as we all felt. "You didn't have to do that."

"I..." Henry said, still not seeming to know what to do.

"You could've disabled him!" Lena yelled, "You could done something else, anything besides that!"

"Lena..." Henry whispered, looking at her. He barely seemed to register that she was there.

"No!" She yelled back, suddenly striding towards him, "No! Don't you even say my name! You murdered our friend! You don't get to s-"

"Get her out of here!" I yelled, finally finding the right thing to do. April looped an arm around Lena's waist before she could get to Henry and dragged her into the elevator. Lena tried to get out, but Lia'Vael bravely stepped in and held back a woman who outranked the hell out of her. The door closed on the yelling woman and the bay was silent, again.

Henry was still standing there, gun drawn and eyes wide, still shaking.

"Henry." I said, approaching him cautiously. "Put the gun down."

I lightly grabbed his wrist and he made barely a move as I slowly lowered the SMG. The turian crew and Barin were still rooted to their spots, shocked, but Enua moved forward.

Henry didn't move as I pulled the SMG away from his clenching hand, still staring at the space Eryc had previously occupied. Enua swept around me and put her arms around him, seeming almost motherly as she did so.

"You'll be okay, Henry." The asari Spectre said. She looked up at me. "I'll get him up to the med-bay."

I nodded my thanks to her and gestured to the turian crew.

"Find a sheet or a tarp or something to wrap him in." I ordered. "It looks like we're headed back to the Citadel."

The turians quickly covered him up with a tarp they used for fuel changes and transfers.

"You're probably going to want to keep off this deck." I told them, "I'm planning on having Anna turn this area into a freezer."

They left immediately. They were still completely quiet and unsure of what, exactly, to say. I was in the same ship as them, having never had to deal with this before. I felt a part of my mind still trying to process the fact that Henry had just murdered Eryc.

_Not murdered._ I corrected, _Killed. There's a world of difference between the two._

Then I was left alone with Barin. Just me and the dead body of a good friend.

"Why, Eryc?" I whispered, "Why did you have to do this?"

"Colonel..." Barin muttered, his usual menacing and angry demeanor completely stripped of him, "I...I don't know what to say."

"It wasn't your fault." I told him quietly, "It was mine. I should've seen this coming. I've been too damn concerned with myself to realize that Eryc was going to be a serious problem when the issue of the slaves came up."

We both went silent.

As I tried to imagine how I was going to report this to Hackett, I had another thought.

_Oh no...we've got a bigger problem._

And as if the universe had heard me, the elevator door opened to reveal Allison standing there, her hands covering her mouth in horror as she looked at the lumpy tarp in the middle of the shuttle bay, with blood still leaking from around it.

"Nonononono..." She whispered, stumbling forward as if in a daze. "No!"

She sprinted towards the body, but I wrapped an arm around her and slung her away.

"No, Allison!" I yelled, "Don't go over there."

"Colonel, please let me see him!"

I almost let her go from the shock of hearing her use my rank, but I held the struggling pilot fast. I didn't want her to lift that tarp and see the man she cared about under there. Not when his head was in a dozen pieces.

"You don't want to see him." I warned her, "Not like this."

She broke down in my arms, a mess of tears and anger.

"Why did he do it?" She whispered, all the life seemingly drained from her.

"He hated the bata-"

"Not Eryc!" She screamed, her voice nearly piercing my eardrums. "Henry! Goddammit, why did he do this?!"

"He was going to kill Barin."

"Fuck Barin and fuck Henry!" She yelled, "Better them than Eryc!"

She seemed to lose all life after that, simply draped over my arms, like a piece of cloth. I looked at Barin, who looked absolutely dejected.

"What...what do we do?" She whispered.

"We're going back to the Citadel after I freeze this bay." I told her. "We're going to make sure he gets a proper service. There is no real burial, since the galaxy's crawling with Reapers, but he deserves a memorial, if nothing else."

"I'll take us there, Colonel." She said, her eyes red-rimmed and filled with tears. "After that...I don't know...I don't think I can stay here, anymore."

We couldn't afford to lose her, but now was not the time to bring it up. Even I knew better.

"Get us back to the Citadel, Allison." I ordered her quietly. "We'll talk about it after we make the arrangements."

"Understood, sir." She muttered miserably. She went back to the elevator and pressed on the button for the bridge. I saw her give one last look to the body at the end of the bay before the door closed. It wasn't thick enough, however, to mask the pained wail that emanated from the elevator as it traveled up.

_My team's falling apart._ I realized. _I looked at the nearest pedestal._

"Anna." I called out. Instantly, her little holograph appeared, looking utterly confused.

Since the night on Tuchunka, she hadn't mentioned keeping me company in my room when I'd fallen into what had basically been a drunken coma. I was grateful for that, but was worried about her now. This would be the first time she'd have to cope with a teammate's' death.

"I assume you saw everything, Anna?" I asked quietly.

"I'm still processing." She said.

"So are the rest of us." I admitted. "Find out the best temperature for preserving a dead body and convert the shuttle bay to it after we leave. Also, I want this area locked down. Nobody in or out, save for me. Understood?"

"Understood, Colonel." She said. "I have questions."

"Later, Anna." I promised her, "Now's not the time."

"Yes, sir." she answered.

"And send a request to contact to Admiral Hackett."

"I will, sir."

I looked to Barin and jerked my head towards the elevator. He nodded and joined me in front of it as I called it down.

"I...what do I say to Shields?" He wondered. "Hell, what do I say to the Captain?"

"You have nothing to apologize for." I told him. "I know it doesn't feel like it, but that wasn't your fault. Eryc is his own man and he made his own choice."

The door opened and we both stepped inside. I hit the display for the War Room as Barin indicated he wanted to go to the crew quarters. Probably to check on Henry.

"It's something we turians are taught from birth." I told Barin. "You are responsible for the outcomes of your decisions. Nobody else. I understand the choice he made. I even know why he made it. It was the morally correct choice, but it was still the wrong choice and he paid the price for it. There was nothing you could do."

The door opened and Barin looked at me in surprise.

"Thank you, Roluck." He said, before stepping out. "I'm so-"

"Just make sure to check on Henry, alright?" I interrupted him as the door closed.

Instantly, I let myself go, bracing my back up against the wall of the elevator. I suddenly felt like I was back in training, a recruit visiting an instructor after a brawl. I felt so tired and so, so lonely.

_I let my team fall apart._

When the door opened, I already heard the soft beeping from the QEC console. I rushed over to it and hit the button that allowed me to receive the call.

Admiral Hackett appeared in the QEC, dressed in his Alliance uniform as always. Dimly, a part of my mind wondered if he ever took it off. The battle-scarred and intimidating human looked at me with something close to worry in his eyes.

"Your AI indicated that this request was urgent." He said, "What's wrong?"

"It's Corporal Flynt, sir." I whispered, not sure what to say.

"What is it, Colonel?" Admiral Hackett, his tone getting impatient.

"He's dead, sir."

The Admiral clearly hadn't been expecting that, straightening up as his eyes widened.

"What the hell happened?" He thundered, the anger evident in his voice.

"He drew a weapon on our batarian member after finding out that batarian slaves were joining the forces we're forming." I said. Admiral Hackett looked like he wanted to interrupt, but I could see him visibly restraining himself. "He was going to shoot First Sergeant Pazin. Captain Gerrard was forced to kill him before Corporal Flynt pulled the trigger."

"Damn it." The Admiral grunted. "That's a mess and a half, there."

"Sir." I said, almost unwilling to let the next words come out of my mouth. "I've presided over a lot of terrible things. My unit's been wiped out around me, I've had to kill our former CO after she started to turn, but this is tearing my team apart. Gerrard is in shock and I've got an angry quarian on my hands. On top of that, our pilot is thinking about tendering her resignation."

The Admiral went silent, clearly contemplating as I hung my head, feeling utterly defeated.

"You know," He said, his voice quiet, "When the Reapers attacked Arcturus Station, I knew it was a hopeless situation. I sacrificed Arcturus Station and an entire fleet to get the Third and Fifth away. Tens of thousands of lives. There were a lot of people who weren't happy with that decision, who say we should've fought to the death. I presided over the most decisive defeat in human history."

I looked up at him, surprised by the admission.

"But it's our duty, Colonel." He said, "We have to do what needs to be done, whether it's right or not. While I have no illusions about how hard it would've been, I would've done the same as Gerrard in that situation. It was the right call. If we win this, he may have very well saved millions of lives that would've been destroyed without the army you drafted from the colonies."

"He killed a friend, Admiral." I repeated.

"And he did the right thing." Admiral Hackett repeated right back at me. "You need to remind him and the rest of the crew that this war demands this kind of sacrifice. This was never going to be won easily. There were always going to be casualties. You hadn't tasted that loss yet, but now you have and you're shaken. I understand that. But you have to get back up and continue on. You have to continue to save those who are depending on you, those who are still alive."

I looked up at him, moved by the man's direct and honest words.

"Give your crew a day to process all this." He said, "Then remind them of the stakes in this war. Billions of lives depend on you all. Remind them of that."

_They're going to hate you for it._That small voice reminded me.

It was true. Once I told them that, they'd immediately see me as some sort of cold, unfeeling son of a bitch.

_It's not like I was at the height of popularity before then._ I reminded myself bitterly. _Not like you have any friends on this ship, is it?_

Not true. Henry was a very good friend. So was Lena.

_And now?_

That thought hit me hard, but I still looked up at the Admiral. He was right and I was sure he hated himself for it, too. We had to do our duty.

"I'll get it done, Admiral." I assured him.

"We're cheering for you out there." Admiral Hackett said, "Don't let us down. Hackett out."

As soon as his hologram faded and he'd disconnected, I collapsed into a chair next to the main terminal.

"Dammit." I whispered to the quiet and unforgiving room, "Things were going so well, too."

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group_**  
**_First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army_**  
**_April Janson - Human, Contracted_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted_**  
**_Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**

**_Zeta Galactic Assets:_**  
**_Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops_**  
**_Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops_**  
**_Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs_**  
**_Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought_**  
**_Batarian Colonies Army - Unknown_**  
**_Batarian Civilian Patrol - 1,700 Fighters, 300 Frigates_**  
**_Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops_**  
**_Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships_**


	75. Chapter 75

One very awkward and long trip to the Citadel later, along with a very lengthy conversation with Allison and we ended up parked over Virmire. Allison had come back to the ship after realizing that she really had nowhere to go. The Vengeance was her home, just like it was for most of us.

I stood outside the med-bay, now, trying to think of what the hell I could possible say to make all of this alright.

_Spirits...I've let my team down._

I shook off the thoughts and decided I was going to 'wing it', as the humans called it. I opened the door to the medbay and looked around.

Henry was sitting in a bed in the corner, calmly wolfing down some rations from the galley. Dr. Aline was seeing to Ilna, who was showing her some kind of infection she'd gotten on her arm. They both looked up at me as I entered.

Dr. Aline had sent me a message ten minutes ago telling me she'd cleared Henry for duty, again. I was really coming to appreciate the asari woman, these days. She'd grown used to the tempo of our operations and did what was necessary to get us fully patched up and back into the fight.

Also, she probably kept Enua balanced out, which was always a plus.

"Give us the room for a moment, doctor?" I asked. She nodded and pulled Ilna away and into the hall behind me. Henry looked up at me, a mirthless smile on his face.

"Come to check on me, huh?"

"Look," I started, "What happened was not your fault. Eryc mad-"

"I'm fine." Henry answered without pause, cutting off the whole pre-planned speech I had. I took a close look into Henry'd face. His pupils weren't dilated, he wasn't shaking...he looked completely fine. Whatever had happened to him had worn off.

"You sure?" I asked, surprised. The man had literally just killed a friend of his eight hours ago, then the woman he loved proceeded to scream at him and push him away. This was roughly two days after his mother had been murdered. Even as driven as I could be, I knew that nobody should have been able to just get over that so quickly.

"Yeah." Henry said, "Eryc made his choice and I made mine. It's done."

There was something...off about the way he'd said it. The words were sound and so was his reasoning, but his voice had the slightest hit of deception behind it that I couldn't figure out. I had to make a decision on him, as we were going to drop onto Virmire, an active combat zone, in a half hour.

_He seems perfectly normal._ I reasoned, _But that's...well...not normal. Not for someone who's been through everything he has._

Professionally, both Dr. Aline and I could agree that Henry was in good enough mental condition to continue on. Personally, I wasn't as sure about him.

Then again, as Admiral Hackett had reminded me, we were a military unit. Our friendship and trust came second to the mission.

"Get down to the shuttle bay and grab your gear after I get in the elevator." I ordered, "Everyone's waiting in the War Room."

"Yes, sir." He replied quietly.

That last word, above all else, was what convinced me that something was terribly wrong with Henry. However, against my better judgement, I still left the med bay.

Ilna had apparently been advised of what to do about her infection by Dr. Aline, because she joined me in the walk to the elevator.

"This hasn't been one of our best days." She noted lightly when we stepped into the elevator.

"I don't think it's ever been this bad." I agreed. "Are you okay?"

"Small infection." Ilna reported casually, "Nothing to be worried about."

We waited in silence until the two of us ended up at the top deck. As I stepped off the elevator, I mentally prepared myself for the brief.

For the first time, the War Room was silent as I entered. Everybody's eyes were on me as they sat around the central terminal, waiting for what I'd say. I walked around to the other side of the terminal and looked at them all. I sighed for a moment, clenching my hands into fists, then began speaking.

"We all heard about what happened, I'm sure." I said, "For those who were not there, let me be clear so as to dispel any circulating rumors. Corporal Flynt had drawn his weapon on First Sergeant Pazin with the clear intention to shoot and de-stabalize our relationship with the batarian colonies I recently visited. I understand his reasoning and I admire how far he was willing to go to do the morally correct thing, but he had to be stopped."

I took a breath, hoping that Henry wouldn't be rushing to get up here.

"Captain Gerrard fired on and killed Corporal Flynt to protect First Sergeant Pazin and the mission." I said. Nobody looked surprised, as I was sure the story had made the rounds long before this briefing. "Both Doctor Aline and I have cleared him for duty, so he will be coming with us on this mission. I don't want anyone asking him about it and I don't want anyone talking about it. He did the correct thing, as far as I'm concerned. What's done is done."

I looked around and saw some discord in the group. Lena sat with her arms crossed in clear anger, not at all satisfied with anything I'd just said. I doubted her anger was actually with me, because she seemed a lot angrier with Henry than with anybody else. Allison was just quiet as she glared at me venomously, unhappy with my choice of words. There had been no way around it, though. Eryc had done wrong and he'd paid for it.

"I know it's hard to want to keep going." I said, "We've been fighting this war for a long time, some of us for three years. We had momentum, but now we're stumbling. There are doubts. At times like these, we need to remember how many lives hinge on our decisions. Billions of people, just like you, are cowering in their homes, turning on the news every day and hearing of more defeats and death. We're here to put a stop to it and Spirits, we're damn well going to no matter how many of us lay dead at the end."

That's when I saw the change. There was a subtle shift in everyone's regard of me. In moments, t'd gone from 'friendly turian in charge' to 'just another officer' between those three speeches. It bothered me, to see everyone regarding me simply as their leader and nothing else. It had to be done, though. Otherwise, billions wouldn't live to see the next day.

The door opened and Henry walked in, clad in his usual armor and weapons. He gave me a professional nod, before seating himself beside Krieg, who gave him a quick nod before looking back up at me.

With dedication and abject misery, I continued the briefing.

"The asari have holed themselves up in the extensive ruins of Saren's old base on Virmire." I told them all, activating a display on the console. A tactical overlay of the area from a bird's eye view was pictured there. I circled two building, two miles apart from each other. "Now, they came here with the intention to do some research for the Crucible, but got pinned down long before they could extract themselves. They are surrounded by troops, who seem to be waiting for a Destroyer or something larger to come by."

I paused and pointed to the bigger of the two buildings.

"Now," I continued, "They sent out a distress signal and several reports, but comms dropped after that, so they don't even know that there's help on the way or if their message got through. They have heavy weapons and vehicles to break out of the siege, but the moment they leave this smaller building here, the Reapers will take it and cut them down before they can make a break to the garage."

"So they need a rear guard." Krieg surmised, the big krogan squinting at the display.

"Exactly." I said. "They need someone with enough force to hold the building until they can break the siege."

"Why don't we just circle around with the Kodiak?" Ilna asked, the human assassin looking the slightest bit confused, "We could blow them all to hell and call it a day."

I activated another control and another picture presented itself. This one was of a very large Reaper. It stood on four legs with a long, worm-like body set on it. The construct had large wings and a fierce-looking head armed with some sort of cannons.

"Is that...a Harvester?" Krieg grunted, looking very surprised, "I've seen them on Tuchunka, but only in their natural form. I didn't know the Reapers corrupted them."

"Yes." I said, "The Reapers have air support, now. Which means that we cannot simply blast them all in the Kodiak or the Vengeance. The asari commandos have the vehicles to destroy them, but they need to get to them."

"So where will we be dropping in?" Enua asked.

"Right on top of the building they've locked themselves in." I replied. "They don't know we're coming, so we'll have to coordinate with them quickly. From there, we can decide what to do. We'll also be calling the Third Fleet in to pick up the asari on the way out. Questions?"

I looked around for anyone with questions and found none.

"Alright." I said, looking at Allison, "Staff Sergeant, get us down there. Everyone else, get prepped in the shuttle bay."

"Yes sir." She answered, still looking angry. As she filed out with everyone else, I sighed and sat back down in the chair, looking at the display.

_They don't trust you, anymore._ That whisper informed me, _They'll follow you, but they don't trust you. To them, you're just some asshole officer, now. Even if you do finish this mission, do you think any of them will remember you? That they will-_

Enough. Worrying about myself had been the reason I hadn't been able to recognize the problem Eryc would cause later on down the line. Worrying about my self had selfishly ended with a man I respected getting killed by another man that I respected.

I pushed myself out of the chair and got into the elevator. The ride down was blissfully silent. For a moment, I didn't have to think about anything. I could just stand there, stare at a wall and pretend that none of this was happening.

At least, until the elevator door opened and revealed my heavily armed and armored team.

"We're all going to have to squeeze into the Kodiak." I informed them. Quietly, they all filed into the cabin as Lia'Vael took her place at the controls. I sat in the passenger's seat as Enua jumped into the cabin last, cramming herself in between Henry and Lena. I looked back to see Lena glaring at Henry, but he either didn't notice or didn't want to, his gaze fixed straight out of the front windshield.

Enua closed the door and we all waited.

"Dropping now." Allison reported.

The shuttle bay door opened to reveal a large, extensive ruin that had been leveled by some sort of blast. However, there were some buildings that were still left standing amongst the paradise.

And Virmire was a paradise, even despite the flattening of the land. Beautiful seas as far as the eye could see, complete with a tropical shoreline that seemed to glitter in the morning sun. There were long stretches of sand and treelines, complete with small critters running around.

This beautiful scene was, of course, interrupted by the brown and black swarm of reaper troops that were surrounding a small complex. I estimated at least four or five thousand. They had set up positions of a sort around the other end of the bridge, which they were using for cover. Looking at the building now, I understood how they'd done it and it had been brilliant. There was only one way into the compound, over a long bridge in the center. The Reapers couldn't attack en masse and destroy the asari, because the commandos would just blow the bridge and take them out.

Problem was, short of an aerial extraction, that was the only way out for the commandos.

Also, if the commandos tried to run for their garage to the east, the reaper forces would probably notice the movement and lack of small arms fire and take them out with a harvester or two while they were out in the open.

So literally, the only choice the reaper forces had was to wait for aerial bombardment or an actual Reaper to show up. I felt a little surprised at the quick thinking and wondered if, perhaps, our mystery tactician was here.

There was sporadic fire coming from the building, along with small blue balls of biotic energy. I was amazed any of them had the strength left to throw out biotics. The ground between the bridge and the building was scorched and even cratered, while the building itself looked like it'd been through hell. Reaper corpses covered the ground, making me wonder exactly how long the asari had been there, defending that position.

As the shuttle departed, I got on the comms system and was showed an open connection from the building.

"Commandos, this is Colonel Vether, STT Zeta." I said with a small smile, "Are we in need of some help down there?"

A moment of silence, then someone picked up.

"STT Zeta?" Cried a weary asari voice, "Thank the Goddess you've come. I'm Lieutenant Unia. You got our message?"

"We did." I confirmed. "We've got the Salarian Third Fleet on the way to extract you, once you get to your vehicles and we hit a safe LZ. What's the situation down there?"

"We're low on...everything." She said. "We've been at this for a week and a half. Sleeping and eating on shifts and very conservative gunfire."

"Understood." I replied, feeling a little guilty that we'd had a party, then spent two days in between before coming here. "Well, get someone to the roof and fast. We're going to drop in really quick."

"We will." She said.

I was impressed that they'd managed to hang on this long, but then, the commandos were certainly the most elite of the asari forces. However, this would be a tough one. As we landed, I started making plans and running scenarios in my head.

As soon as the shuttle touched down, I was out of the door and looking out towards the reaper forces. Sure enough, a pair of winged harvesters were headed this way.

"Everyone out!" I yelled, hefting the Harrier in my hands. "Quick!"

I moved towards the edge and began firing conservatively, merely trying to slow them down while the team exited the shuttle. My own fire was joined by the barking of a wide variety of weapons and the harvesters were quickly overcome by the fire, falling from the sky and slamming into the building before dropping to the ground.

_I suppose they expected a few people, not a fully armed squad-sized element of elite soldiers._

"Over here!" A voice yelled. I turned to see an asari beckoning to us from a doorway on the rooftop. She had the purple skin I'd come to associate with their commandos, along with the skintight black suit they wore to enhance their biotic abilities.

I ran over and noticed how exhausted she looked. Black lines were deep under her eyes and her shoulders were sagging. Hell, even her fringes seemed to be drooping. But I saw hope in her eyes.

I noticed that, around the roof, were the bodies of dozens of dead reapers who'd somehow managed to get up here. Clearly, the asari were not playing around.

"C'mon." I urged everyone as she disappeared through the door, leading us down. I turned to make sure everything was safe and was briefly blinded by the morning sun before I closed the door behind us.

We plunged into darkness and through the halls of the facility until we came out to a floor.

The first thing I noticed was all the research and tech equipment that had been tossed aside to make room for sleeping asari. The windows were simply long, horizontal openings that spanned the entire wall, reminding me more of a military bunker than a building.

_Remember,_ I told myself, _This was Saren's base, at one point._

There were wrappers strewn around everywhere, as well as discarded thermal clips and everything in between. The air smelled of dried blood, sweat and exhaustion, though I didn't smell any waste. Apparently, they used facilities for that, which had to be one of the perks of this whole siege.

Asari commandos lined the windows, most of them not firing, but keeping a watch out for anything trying to cross the bridge. On the floor were more troops, trying desperately to catch sleep and only some of them succeeding. I was vividly reminded of finding Henry on Earth just like this.

"They're here!" The asari who guided us down yelled. Eyes from all around the room turned to us and even the sleeping asari woke, looked around in confusion and then gave weak cries of joy at the sight of fresh faces.

One asari separated herself from the rest as they all went back to what they were doing. She was possibly the only asari on this floor with blue skin. Her wide blue eyes were laced with exhaustion and confusion, but I saw the same hope in them that I saw all around us.

"Lieutenant Unia?" I inquired.

"That's me." She said, holding out a hand. I shook it, noting the delight in her voice. "Thank the Goddess you showed up here. We're running out of supplies and our morale is so low we had a few suicides in the bathrooms."

"I understand." I told her, "What's the layout of this place?"

"Six floors." She replied, "Mostly windows faced towards the bridge. Saren designed this building to be both a research center and a fortress, so we've got plenty of defense. I've got two thousand commandos spread out evenly between the floors. I'm sure you saw all the bodies on the way in? They came storming over that bridge like a drunken krogan, but we put them down so many times that they eventually got the point and stayed over there. I think they're trying to wait us out until we die of starvation or run out of ammo."

"That's how a siege works." I muttered. "What do you have in the way of armor?"

"Twenty Makos, sixty gunships and the rest are transports on both ground and air."

"How many harvesters have you spotted?" I asked.

"About a dozen." She answered. "Make that ten, with the stunt you guys pulled."

"I've already got a plan, Lieutenant." I informed her with a smile. "You're going to love it."

"You're extracting us on the spot?" she asked sardonically.

"No." I told her, "We can't bring the entire fleet down here for an extended time or Reaper ships will start showing up to destroy the fleet. So they need to extract fast. There was a clearing about eight miles from here that looked like it'd do it. The distance will give us enough time to get everyone out without the ground forces catching up."

"But how do we get there?" She asked.

"Easy." I told her, "You get all of your vehicles and bring them around the back of the building. Then we plow right through them, pick off all the harvesters we can and get to the clearing."

"That's...going to be problematic." She said, "We can't leave the building or they'll flood over."

"Give me about two hundred of your forces." I told her. "Between them and my team, we should be able to hold the building."

"Then we come around for a pickup and move." She muttered, mulling it over. "That could work."

"It will work." I assured her. "Before you go, why were you all down here?"

"Research." She answered, "We have a science team that was doing research on some Prothean artifacts Saren had hoarded here. They got a lot of data for some sort of project that intel is keeping tightly under wraps."

_The Crucible._I thought to myself.

"Are they still alive?" I asked.

"No." She said shaking her head regretfully, "But the data is with me."

"Good work." I told her, "You did one hell of a job keeping everyone alive through this. Now it's our turn. Get ready to move. One thermal clip per soldier headed to the vehicles, they drop the rest for the soldiers staying in the building."

I turned to my sullen team as she moved away to issue orders.

"There are ten of us and six floors." I mused. "Alright, Krieg and I will each get a floor, everyone else go by twos. Urre, you're up here with me. Lia'Vael, you keep watch on the shuttle with a few asari."

"Yes, Colonel." She replied, the small quarian moving over to pull a few asari out of the crowd..

"Do your best to keep up the same rate of fire they had and if the reapers start advancing across that bridge, you know what to do."

I heard affirmatives all around and they began to split. April went with Henry, Lena went with Nesk, Ilna with Barin and Errahe with Enua.

"Alright, Commandos, listen up." I heard behind me. I turned to see Lieutenant Unia speaking over her omni-tool. From the glow of the hundreds of omni-tools around us, everyone was getting the broadcast. "I know we're tired. I know we're hungry. I know the barrel of our weapons have been looking more and more like a friendlier option than starving to death-"

"Damn." Errahe muttered next to me, impressed by the unorthodox speech.

"But we're finally getting out of here." She said, shooting me a smile. "The Salarian Third Fleet is on its way to pick us up and we've been reinforced by none other than STT Zeta. We need to get to our vehicles, get them out to the building, pick everyone up and mow right through the reaper forces to the LZ. Bravo and Echo Company, you're staying to help the STT since you just woke up. Distribute between the floors and everyone leave a spare clip for them, if possible. Be downstairs in five minutes."

I saw hope on every face on the floor as I strode forward and looked over the edge of the window at the grounds below.

"Do you really think you'll be able to pull this off, Colonel?" Lieutenant Unia asked, settling in next to me.

"It's what we do." I told her solemnly. "Get to your troops, Lieutenant. You've done an amazing job so far, let's not fall apart now."

She didn't even bother to answer, running back towards the door her troops were filtering through.

Urre settled next to me, his eyes and camera on the bridge as I fired a potshot at a cannibal that peeked out from cover too long. I missed but the round served his purpose. The point wasn't really to kill them, but to stop them from catching our ruse.

"Colonel." Urre said next to me as a few dozen commandos took positions along the wall with me. All of them were looking at Urre and I with renewed hope and optimism.

_I hope we prove worthy of it._

"What is it?" I asked.

"You seemed very...unapproachable today." He said. "You're usually very friendly, but today you just seemed...withdrawn."

"I know." I said.

"Why?"

I looked over at the curious salarian, then at his camera.

"This conversation doesn't make the cut." I told Urre. "At least, not until this war is over."

"You got it, Colonel." He said.

I looked down the bridge and saw a couple of husks get picked off from the floors below me. I fired another round at a marauder on the other side of the bridge and grazed it, before turning back to Urre.

"Eryc's death drove Lena from Henry and forced a wedge between me and her." I told him. "Allison almost quit, until she realized that she had nowhere else to go. Henry is...not the same. Professionally, I'm sure he'll do his duty, but he doesn't seem...right."

"So?"

"My team is imploding." I told him. "They don't need a friend, right now. They need a leader. I don't like it, but that's what I have to do."

"But this team is-"

I interrupted him by firing a trio of rounds at a ravager who was attempting to skitter across the bridge. It went down from a volley of shots that followed my own.

"The people on this team are the only friends you have." Urre pointed out.

"Thanks for reminding me." I muttered. "I don't enjoy doing this, Urre, but we're a military unit. At the end of the day, if I have to turn into the same kind of officer I despise to keep them together...I'll do it."

"At your own expense?" Urre asked perceptively.

"Better my expense than the expense of the galaxy."

"Doesn't it eat at you, though?"

_How did he ever become a reporter?_ I wondered, _He asks some of the most insensitive questions._

Still, he was right. I bowed my head and stared at the floor in thought for a moment before looking back up at him.

"Yes." I told him. "Yes it does."

There was silence after that as we all kept fire on the bridge until my omni-tool lit up. I looked around to see that everyone else's omni-tools had also flared to life.

"We're ready to go." Lt. Unia reported.

"Alright, everyone." I ordered into my omni-tool. "Commandos, you start loading up first. Trenel, Zuril, Vael and Janson, you're in the Kodiak. I want Zeta out last, to confirm everybody's out of the building."

I didn't get affirmatives back, but then I wasn't sure I wanted hundreds of people talking on my omni-tool.

Urre and I waited until the last of the commandos were off our floor, though I picked up the fire a little bit on the bridge. The reaper ground troops, sensing less small-arms fire, had started towards the bridge in large groups.

"Go." I ordered Urre. He dashed towards the stairs and I followed right behind him. We wound our way down until we came out behind the building, where there were almost a hundred vehicles waiting. The commandos were swiftly loading up into them, clearly aware that time was a factor.

"Colonel!" I heard someone yell. I saw Lt. Unia waving me over from a gunship.

"I'll stay on the ground!" I yelled. I'd been in the air last time and I didn't want to keep watching over my team from relative safety.

She looked confused, then nearly horrified when I jumped on top of a Mako and looped my arm around the cannon. The hatch opened up on top, a commando sticking her head out and shooting me a bewildered look.

"Don't slow down for me." I ordered with a grin. She nodded, a slow smile spreading over her face. While I did enjoy leading from the front, I wasn't stupid. I wasn't going to expose myself to thousands of weapons simply so I could be on the lead Mako. Instead, I was in the middle of the pack, where there'd be a much smaller chance of me being shot.

When everyone was loaded up, I connected my comms unit to the team.

"Anybody not loaded up?"

There was silence on the line.

"Staff Sergeant." I ordered, speaking to Allison over the same channel, "Come in over the LZ so the lead knows where to go.

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, Lieutenant." I said, "I've got my ship hovering over the LZ so you can guide yourself there. Now let's move and don't stop for anything."

The Mako up front started to move as the gunships lifted off and moved in a row, so they could spread fire fully to the front.

With a jerk that nearly threw me off the vehicle, my Mako started forward, following the one in front of it.

We wheeled around the building as the Makos started towards the bridge. Once the fire had ceased, a lot of troops had filed onto the bridge to overtake the building. Makos began running the reaper troops over and pushing them off the bridge, while the gunners fired at the flood of troops on the way by.

A round skimmed over the turret and nearly hit me, but I was ducked low. I felt exhilaration as I fired the Harrier, catching several reapers on the way by.

Is this how it's going to be, now? That voice wondered as I reloaded and started firing again, feeling a distant grin on my face. Alive while you're killing on missions and dead on the downtime between? Might as well be one of these reapers.

I ignored the though as we cleared the bridge. I looked up to see the gunships on the move in a straight row, protecting the transports behind them and pouring fire into the airborne harvesters as they flew. Harvesters began dropping from the sky and I looked back to see the last troop transport clear the bridge.

"Lieutenant!" I yelled as I ducked further down. A trio of rounds passed over my head and I winced at how close that one had been, "Blow the bridge."

She didn't answer, but a loud explosion that pierced my ears and made the earth around me shake sounded behind us.

_That'll keep them busy._

A pair of rounds skipped off my shields, one off of my armor and then we were out of the reaper territory. I looked back again to find that all of the troop transports had made it out safely. I looked up and couldn't count the birds, but assumed they'd all made it out.

In the distance, hovering over a sandbar, I could see the _SSV Vengeance_in all of her glory.

"I heard you need some transports, Colonel." A salarian voice said over my comms system. I saw transports the size of the Vengeance start to come down out of orbit, headed right for the Vengeance. I smiled to myself, glad that this one had gone right.

_So far._

"Lieutenant." I said into my comms piece.

"Yes, sir?" She asked, her voice nearly a laugh.

"You all work for me now." I told her. "We're building coalition of our own for the counterattack we'll be conducting and I could use people like you."

"Will we just be sent off into another fight after this?" She asked, her voice serious.

"No." I told her, "You'll get to rest. Your leadership won't be a problem, either. Admiral Hackett will sort them out."

"If that's the case," She replied, "Then we'd be proud to serve alongside you."

"I'm glad to hear it."

The rest of the ride was silent and I just reveled in the feel of the wind against my face as I looked at the paradise around me.

_It's so peaceful here._ I thought._ If this war does come to an end, I'm moving here._

When we arrived at the LZ, the transports were already waiting for us. The transports were meant for vehicles, which meant that the asari didn't even have to get out of their gunships, Makos and transports. They just drove or flew right into the transports.

My team joined me on the ground and we all started back towards the Vengeance, our morale as low as it'd ever been.

"Colonel!" I heard someone yell behind me. My team didn't turn, but I did.

Unia stalked towards me with tears running from her eyes. I flinched, not too sure what to expect, but she threw her arms around me in the most unprofessional display of gratitude I'd ever received from another officer.

"No casualties, Colonel." She breathed in my ear. I felt wetness on my own face as her tears rubbed off on me. "Thank you. We'd given up hope. Thank you for getting us all out safely."

_I wish I could get my team out of this war safely._

"It's what we do." I replied with a forced smile.

**_STT Zeta:_**  
**_Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch_**  
**_Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines_**  
**_Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines_**  
**_First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group_**  
**_First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army_**  
**_April Janson - Human, Contracted_**  
**_Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted_**  
**_Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter_**  
**_Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre_**  
**_Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute_**

**_Vengeance Crew:_**  
**_Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman_**  
**_Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer_**  
**_Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot_**  
**_Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)_**  
**_Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)_**  
**_Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)_**  
**_Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)_**  
**_Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)_**

**_Zeta Galactic Assets:_**  
**_Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops_**  
**_Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops_**  
**_Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs_**  
**_Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought_**  
**_Batarian Colonies Army - Unknown_**  
**_Batarian Civilian Patrol - 1,700 Fighters, 300 Frigates_**  
**_Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops_**  
**_Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships_**


	76. Chapter 76

"-you'll please file towards the exit," The priest at the podium in front of us all said, "There is another service waiting."

And that concluded Eryc's service, easily the most awkward and miserable experience of my life.

The church we were in was built specifically for memorials. There were odd, long seats that were stacked in rows from one end of the church to the other, with prayer nooks on the backs of the seats. It was very strange, the way this place was but, but also...a little soothing. Between the faux wood, the smell of the candles and the dusky light filtering through the stained-glass windows, it was a very peaceful place.

I'd felt very guilty being here and I had no doubts in my mind that Henry had, too. We'd stuck out the ceremony there, though. I'd seen his sister, a slight brunette woman in an Alliance dress uniform, crying through the whole thing in the front seat. Allison had been comforting her guilty as Henry kept glancing over, looking like he wanted to say something.

I also felt a little guilty at the low turnout. Eryc had no family besides Alicia, most of the military he knew were away in battle and he had no friends. So there were only an upwards of sixty people here, most of them coming from the crew of the _SSV Vengeance._

On top of all that, I felt bad for showing up here in armor. Turians didn't really have ceremonies like this, so I'd simply brought what I usually wore. Apparently, it wasn't normal to stroll into a human church with armor and weapons, but I'd assured the parishes that I was Eryc's commander and that I simply hadn't known there was a dress code. They'd still seemed a little angry, but had accepted my apology.

At least the morning had been eventful. I'd gotten dozens of messages from the Commando battalion we'd saved, thanking the team at large for saving them. That team had been a day or two from mass suicide, as Lieutenant Unia had told me. She hadn't wanted her unit to become Reaper slaves, so she'd been a day or two from blowing up the building with them in it, to prevent them from being turned by the reapers.

We all stood and I made to leave, but April thrust an arm out to stop me. I looked at her questioningly, then realized nobody was leaving as Allison and Alicia walked down the aisle alone, their eyes red and tears on both of their faces.

When they passed and left the room, we all started to file out. I took one last look at Eryc's picture before I left. It sat atop the casket, showing the picture they'd taken when he'd enlisted the second time. He looked happy, that honest smile he sometimes showed on his face as he beamed out at us all over his coffin.

_You did good, kid._ I told him, hoping that he heard me, wherever he was. _You did the right thing, even in death._

I hated myself for what he'd done and I was willing to admit it as we exited the church and ended up on the Presidium. I knew he'd done the morally correct thing, while we'd done what was right but incredibly unethical.

_I hate this war._

The team was already gathered outside and waiting for me when I got down from the steps. None of us had slept in twenty-four hours.

"Alright." I announced to them all quietly. "Make sure the crew gets word: we have three days of liberty, then we're moving in on Omega. I want the ship to stay here while I bring Admiral Zuril and Janson with me. Everyone else stays on the ship and waits for me. Understood?"

Nods all around.

"Dismissed, then."

Everyone went off in a different direction and I stood there a moment, not sure what I was going to do.

_I need to see how Henry's doing._ I realized.

I looked off in the direction he'd walked in, behind a stand of trees. I started walking, when I heard a sharp snap. I almost pulled my weapon, before I realized what I'd heard. It was a slap. I stopped myself as I heard an angry voice.

"It was you, wasn't it?!" Alicia yelled. I was suddenly very thankful for these trees, because I would not be able to walk away without making a sound and it hid me from view. So I just had to wait this one out.

"I...I had no choice." Henry muttered simply, his voice low and wispy. I assumed he'd attempted to apologize to her.

"Not that." she hissed, "Your account was the account that emptied twenty thousand credits into my account, wasn't it? Did you think if you paid me beforehand, I would just let you say 'sorry' and you'd be forgiven? That you'd be absolved of your guilt?"

"Eryc wanted you to get through flight training." Henry said quietly, seeming completely unfazed, "It's what he would've wanted."

"What?!" she yelled, even angrier than before. "You don't get to talk about him!"

"He was proud of you, Alicia." Henry finally said, his voice small and quiet. "I thought you should know that. He talked about you every time I saw him and...he was prouder of you than anyone or anything else in his life."

There was silence, then that slap again. I winced, wishing once again that I wasn't here. I heard a pair of angry footsteps march away, followed by a long silence. Then I heard heavier, longer footsteps trudge off past my range of hearing

I breathed a sigh of relief and ruled against myself on talking to Henry, knowing that he was going to need to be alone after that.

_That was rough._

So, I decided to get a drink down in the wards. Or ten.

_It can go either way._

The trip down to the wards was quiet, mainly because I had nobody there to talk to. For once, I was pretty sure it was a good thing. I needed time to think and time to process a lot of problems and information from a very short amount of time.

I was almost to the bar, when I heard a slight shuffling noise down a long corridor to my right. I stopped, curious about what I'd heard. I heard it again, this time accompanied by the slightest breathless squeak. I looked up at the ceiling for a moment, trying to figure out where I'd heard that sound before.

That was when I remembered why the sound was familiar. It was a sound I'd heard several times over the years of combat. It was the strangled gasp of someone being choked to death.

I immediately flung myself down the corridor and came stomping into a small area that in the back that looked as though it was used for storage.

There was a woman on top of one of the crates and she was tiny. She was dressed in some sort of full-body suit that was completely black save for a grey area across the belly. She wore a black hood that obscured her entire face.

Over her was a man in black armor and on his back was a...sword? He had dark hair that traveled down to his shoulders and though he wasn't massive, he was still big. He had some sort of strange visor over his eyes that looked added an eerie blue glow to his gaze.

He had his gloved hands around the woman's throat and was strangling her mercilessly as she kicked out and tried to pry his hands off with hers. I could hear strangled gasps coming from her mouth. I felt rage flow through my body as I glimpsed the smug smile on his face.

_I'm going to kill this man._ I realized suddenly.

"Hey!" I yelled, drawing my Harrier and nestling the barrel directly behind his ear, "Get off of her, you creep!"

The dark haired human let go of her and she rolled off of the crate with a gasp, going to all fours and trying to suck in breath as she covered her throat. The human turned to me and I noticed a very familiar insignia printed on the breast of his armor.

"Cerberus." I growled.

"Correct." The man replied, his hands up. "I am the right hand of the Illusive Man."

"His left one must look like shit."

He lashed out immediately, spinning and knocking the weapon out of my hands with surprising force. I realized quickly, just from the looks of all the machinery on him, that he had to be partially cybernetic. He drew that long, thin sword from a sheath at his back and slashed out at me. I used the boosters to throw myself backwards, barely backing away from the sword in time.

I saw recognition hit the man's eyes.

"Colonel Vether." He greeted in a self-satisfied tone. "I'm glad to see you here. The Illusive Man intended me to end you after I killed Shepard and her crew."

"I doubt Shepard's going to let some girl waving around a cute little knife beat her." I replied with a grin.

The words had much more effect than I thought they would. His sneer turned into a deep frown and I saw anger instantly etch itself into his face.

"Die, you fucking bird!"

He slashed out at me the same way, but I evaded once again. I boosted forward and slammed my forehead into the softer bones of his face.

Due to the structure of the turian skull, which was partially metallic, it was much stronger than the bones in a human's face. I heard the satisfying and soft crunching of cartilage and bone when my forehead met his nose and eye sockets. He stumbled backwards, bleeding from his nose and mouth. He sputtered as blood from his nose began to get in his mouth and I forced myself to choke down a laugh.

"Bird: One, Racist: Zero." I heard the woman choke out, still on her knees and trying to recover.

Despite the situation, I felt a laugh force itself past my lips. The assassin's face turned red when he realized that he was being mocked. He turned to her for a second, probably to shoot her or something. That was my opportunity. I boosted forward yet again and his sword came up to block whatever punch I was going to try and land.

But I wasn't trying for a strike. I simply wrapped him up in my arms as the boosters continued to provide enough momentum for me to lift him off the ground. Due to our combined momentum, we were headed for a wall rapidly with his sword stuck uselessly between us. I removed my arms just in time as he slammed into the wall at full speed. Between my weight, acceleration and armor, it was too much for the Cerberus assassin. I heard the snapping of ribs and other bones as he yelled in pain. I let him drop to the ground in a heap.

I turned away and approached the woman, who was now managing to get to her feet.

"Saved by a turian." She groaned, accepting the hand I held down to her and pulling herself up, "Garrus will never let me hear the end of this."

"You know Garrus?" I asked. She just nodded. "Well, If Cerberus wants a human dead, you're probably connected with Shepard. It'd be best to get in touch with her, or you'll be dealing with more guys like this piece of trash."

"I just might." She said softly. Then she looked up at me. "Kasumi Goto. I owe you a big debt. If you ever need anything big stolen, you let me know."

I knew that name. It wasn't because of her association with Shepard, either. I'd heard of her when I'd first joined the STT. She'd gotten through an impassible area and stolen some jewels worth twenty million credits. I didn't let on that I recognized her name, though.

"I doubt I'll need those services." I told her with a laugh,"But if something comes up, you'll be the first to know."

She nodded and was about to disappear, but then I stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't..." I started, feeling a little uncertain about asking. "I don't suppose you'd want to stop and get a drink real quick? I was already headed down that way."

She shot me a small smile and I finally got to see some of her features. She had full lips, very delicate features and a small stripe of purple makeup running down from her lower lip to her chin. I could see the shining of dark eyes under her hood, though I couldn't make out details.

"As long as it's the 'pleutonic' type." She answered.

"Of course." I said. "I'll just be a minute, here."

"Don't keep me waiting." She said, her voice amused. When she left, I looked back down at the scum at my feet, trying to get back up. Even with his cybernetics, I'd crushed too many bones with that strike for his body to support itself.

I didn't kid myself, though. Had this assassin got the jump on me or had reinforcements, I might've been dead.

"You going to kill me, vulture?"

The last word was a curse in his mouth. I walked over to him, picking the sword up from the ground and eying it.

I was not in the mood for this and the assassin had picked a very bad time to mouth off to me.

"Kill you?" I asked, injecting amusement into my voice for his sake. If he was going to be a smug son of a bitch, then so was I. At least I had the grace to wait until after I beat him."No, that'd be letting you off too easy. I don't even want C-Sec to find you. I'd rather the Illusive Man sees your failure personally."

I kicked him onto his back with an armored foot, before shoving the barrel of the Harrier directly into his mouth. I leaned down and grabbed the cybernetic visor from his face. He cried out in panic, right before I ripped them off his face.

The barrel of my rifle muffled his cry as the small screws holding it to his face came off with it. Blood began to seep down his forehead and into his hair as brown eyes glared at me.

"Don't think, for a second, that you can beat me or mine." I told him. "If we knew where your pitiful boss was, we'd fly there right now, infiltrate his station and kill him. Along with everyone in it. Nothing could stop us, least of all you. So if you start getting ideas about coming back to get me or targeting my people, remember this moment."

I pulled the gun from his mouth and was about to walk away until he started talking again.

"I will come back and find you, you alien piece of trash." He seethed, his eyes filled with murderous rage, "I will-"

"Spare me." I grunted in annoyance, not really feeling up to the menial task of listening to this idiot seethe. I looked at the sword again and smiled, my back to him.

"You know," I told him, pacing back and forth in front of him, "I once dissected a live varren for xeno-biology studies when I was in my teens."

"What the hell is wr-"

"But he kept moving." I said, "We had to pin him down to the table with these pins and...well, they looked a lot like this sword. You know what I learned that day?"

"I'm going to-"

"The best way to pin something down is between the muscle and the bone." I said, "It forces them to pull the blade out before they move, or they'll tear the tendons from the muscle and bone."

"No!" He yelled, right before I speared him through the calf with the sword. The blade forced itself between the muscle of his calf and his bone, effectively pinning him to the ground as the sword found purchase to sink into beneath his leg.

He cried out in agony as the wound started to ooze crimson around the blade. I smiled as he looked up at me, seeming the slightest bit apprehensive for the first time.

"I don't care where you go!" He yelled, "I'll kill you! I'll ki-"

"Just...shut up." I ordered him, right before I kicked him in the face with and armored foot, shutting him up as I knocked him out. Little trails of blood started to run away in tiny rivulets from his open mouth.

"That's much better." I said with a smile as I exited the alley, leaving the broken and bloody assassin behind me.

I doubted I'd ever be seeing him again.

When I walked out of the corridor, the woman was waiting for me, a small smile on her face.

"I was afraid you'd stood me up." she said.

"I'd never stand up a beautiful woman." I told her, making sure my voice sounded hurt.

She laughed as we both approached Flux.

The place was a lot better than Chora's Den, with a dance floor, a large section cut out on the left for drinking and a casino on the second level above the bar. Lining the left wall was a window that looked out on the space outside the Citadel. The lighting was better than Chora's Den, a comfortable white lighting as opposed to the red lighting of that place. The music wasn't too loud in the area we sat down in, thankfully.

"So you were a part of Shepard's...battalion, more or less...that attacked the Collectors, huh?" I asked.

"I was." She confirmed. "It was...quite a mission."

"Can I get you two anything?" A waitress asked.

"Tall glass of turian whisky." I replied.

"Glass of your best wine, please." Kasumi answered.

"Should I start a tab?" She asked.

"Yes." I said. I opened up my omni-tool and was about to show her my credit information when I heard a yell from the bar.

"Is that Colonel Vether?"

I looked over to see a volus there behind the bar. I searched my memory, but I'd never seen him before. Perhaps he recognized me from the vids.

The woman looked at me and I nodded.

"Soldiers drink free here!" He yelled, garnering the attention of a few customers. They all looked at me and I saw recognition in some of their eyes.

"Isn't he the leader of STT Zeta?" I heard someone mutter to his friend. I saw a lot of people talking behind their hands and a lot of muttering from the tables around us, to my discomfort. A lot of the looks I saw were of subtle desperation.

"Let the man have a damn drink!" The volus yelled.

"I'll get them right away." The waitress said.

"Damn." Kasumi said, her smile and eyes bright with amusement, "You're almost as famous as Shepard. I should call you up every time I come here for the drinks."

"With your profession." I told her, "Probably best not to be seen too many times with the semi-famous."

"Semi-famous?" She asked. "Colonel, you do realize at a time like this you and Shepard are more famous than movie stars?"

"What?"

"Seriously." She said, "People are terrified out there. It's the end of the galaxy and everyone knows it. So they follow the people who are making a difference. You're one of them."

"I..."

I really didn't know how to answer that.

Fortunately, I was spared the trouble when a familiar face walked in.

April was walking alone, wearing what I recognized as an older-style dress. I hated to admit it, but the dress showed off a few more curves than I'd realized she had. She searched around with her jade-colored eyes and found me, the only asshole in this place wearing heavy armor.

_Ah...dammit._

I was hoping that I wouldn't see anybody from the team. I needed to be distanced from them, ever since Eryc. Seeing them on off-duty hours wasn't exactly 'distanced'.

"Hey Roluck." She said with a bright smile, before looking at Kasumi, "Is this a date?"

"No." I replied uncomfortably, trying to find a way to get her out of here without being an asshole about it. "She's a friend of Shepard's. We just met."

"He woo you from across the bar?" April asked in amusement, the blond woman taking a seat next to Kasumi as she brushed a lock of hair over her ear.

"No, actually." Kasumi said, shooting me a wicked look, "I was being strangled by a Cerberus assassin. He jumped in and crushed the assassin's...well...everything."

April laughed at first, then seeing our completely serious looks, let the laugh trail off.

"Seriously?" she said. We both nodded. "Well, sadly enough, that sounds believable."

"The Illusive Man's right hand, apparently." I chortled. "What a barefaced idiot."

"Barefaced?" Kasumi wondered, cocking her head at me.

To my surprise, April answered.

"It's a turian expression." She explained, "Much like how we'd say 'two-faced'."

"Ah." Kasumi replied.

_How...how the hell does April know that?_

"Anyways," Kasumi continued, "It's just a friendly drink. I'm taking a break from my duties, anyways."

"So you were with Shepard's-"

"Look," I said, getting April's attention, "I'm not on a date with Kasumi or anything, but I was trying to be away from the-"

"Rest of the crew." April finished for me, getting uncharacteristically serious. And dismissive. "Yeah, I know. You've been distant since Eryc was killed so as to force unit cohesion. I get it."

I felt my spine stiffen in surprise.

_And how does she know that, too._

Our drinks came and April ordered one herself, unfortunately anchoring herself to the table. I took a sip of the turian whisky and felt the familiar fire rolling down my throat.

"What happened?" Kasumi asked, looking at April. I felt a little left out.

"Our XO was forced to shoot a teammate." I said. "That teammate was about to kill our batarian teammate."

"Damn." She said, "That's harsh."

"Poor Henry." April said, "After all that's happened to him, he was probably the last one that should ever happen to."

"Yeah." Kasumi agreed, "Shep had a lot of problems herself. She'd never really been with anyone in a few years and that, combined with everything going on around her, kept her kind of lonely. We'd always have a 'girls night' with the two of us and Tali when we could, just to relax. But then, Garrus."

"Yeah." I muttered, thinking of him and shaking my head.

"You don't approve of mixed relationships?" April asked, a surprisingly severe tone in her voice.

"I don't have a problem with that." I said, "Look at Lena and Henry...or at least, what they used to be. But I know Vakarian and he is a troublemaker and a half."

"Better watch who you say that around, Roluck." Kasumi laughed, "Shep will come over here and kick your ass."

"Please." April returned with a scoff, "Our Colonel kills Reapers with one hand while kicking in the teeth of Cerberus assassins with his opposite foot."

I chuckled at that one.

"No doubt." Kasumi says, "Your team has become rather famous across the galaxy as well. At least you weren't disgraced, like Shep was. Which reminds me, exactly what did you do with that creep when I was waiting outside?"

"I didn't kill him." I answered with a shrug. Then I broke into a grin as I remembered the warning I'd sent him. Him and the Illusive Man. "But I don't think he'll be coming around my people or operations any time soon."

She nodded and tossed down the rest of the drink before giving me an honest smile.

"I appreciate the drink, Roluck." She said, finally using my name. "But I gotta go. And my services are still on the table, if they're ever needed."

"Kasumi." I told her, drawing her attention as she stood. "I'm serious about what I said with Shepard. I'm sure you can stand up in a normal fight, but these are trained assassins with Reaper tech upgrades. You should join her."

"I...plan to." She said, "I'm not exactly bogged down with work, here. Not to mention, the Normandy and -I suspect- the Vengeance are the safest places to be in the galaxy."

"Good." I told her. "I hope to see you again someday. Under better circumstances, too."

"Right back at you, Roluck."

The thief slipped into a crowd entering the bar and vanished. I smiled to myself and leaned back in my seat.

"Her services?" April asked.

"That, April," I said, "Was the best thief in the galaxy."

"Really?" She said, drawing out the word and arching an eyebrow.

"We were on Garvug once." I said, "There was this filthy rich recluse who worked there that needed us to investigate a batarian smuggling ring. He had these jewels from some crown back on Earth that were worth millions. He'd locked them in a DNA-encrypted safe, behind false walls and dozens of murderous traps."

"And?"

"What do you think?" I asked. "She just danced on in there, in the middle of the day, like he'd left the room unlocked with the keys to the safe sitting on the floor. Never actually saw her and we were much more concerned with the information he was providing, anyways. Still, heard later on that she wasn't even hired by anyone. She just did it because she could."

"So by 'her services', she means..."

"Stealing, yes." I answered.

"Well...that's...interesting..." She muttered. "Anyways, I wanted to talk about something besides thievery."

"Look, April-"

"I get it, Roluck." She said, her entire expression pleading me to give her a chance to explain. "Unit cohesion. But I'm not going anywhere. I'm dedicated to seeing this through, no matter what comes at me."

"Why are you so damn determined to kill Reapers?" I said, placing my hands flat on the table and leaning in, trying my best to intimidate her into an answer.

She went silent, seeming to scan me with her eyes. She was always so cheerful and happy, bu she'd slip into moments like these where she'd be more serious than a turian in the middle of a tactical debate. I didn't get her.

"My...my husband...he used to do that." She said quietly.

"Husband?" I asked, sitting down in surprise.

"Yeah." She replied. "He got killed when the Reapers attacked. He was on Palaven...when it happened."

"Palaven?" I asked, not sure I'd heard her correctly.

"He was in an infantry division down there." She continued. "Reaper came in and blew the entire base to hell."

Silence descended over us as I leaned back in my seat. This conversation had gone in a direction I had not quite expected.

"I...I see." I said not sure how to answer, "I'm...sorry, that I brought it up. It was tactless."

"Everyone in that ship is fighting for something." She said quietly, "The only person who doesn't anymore is Henry and look how he's turned out."

"Yeah..." I muttered, scratching underneath the collar of my armor.

"What do you fight for, Roluck?" She asked.

To hear the question put in front of me, the same way I'd put it to myself dozens of times in the last month and a half was very unsettling.

_Make something up._

"I believed I already answered that in my interview with Urre."

"You're stalling." She replied flatly.

_Damn._

I looked around, trying to come up with some way not to answer this, but no help was incoming.

"Roluck." She repeated again.

"I'm fighting for faster elevators." I said with an attempt at a humorous grin.

She wasn't fooled.

"You're dodging the question." She accused.

_I really can't take this._

I ignored her, downing the rest of my drink before standing up and walking towards the door

"Where are you going?" I heard her ask behind me.

"Somewhere else." I answered.

_Purgatory._ I thought to myself. _Wait, no, Aria's there and that is not someone I want to get in a drunken conversation with. Chora's Den it is._

As I turned the corner and left my bewildered teammate behind, the question she asked me plagued me yet again.

_What do you fight for?_

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group**_  
_**First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army**_  
_**April Janson - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Batarian Colonies Army - Unknown**_  
_**Batarian Civilian Patrol - 1,700 Fighters, 300 Frigates**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_  
_**Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships**_  
_**Asari Commandos - 2,000 Biotic Troops**_


	77. Chapter 77

It'd been six days since that incident with Kasumi and I was still somehow a little on edge. We hadn't had an operation since then and I had nowhere to take out my frustrations. I heard there was a mission coming down to us, though.

So we'd talked at the Citadel and were unwinding. We'd spent six days running around and securing supply lines and suppliers but hadn't engaged any Reapers. I was starting to get anxious and I was tired of avoiding April on my own damn ship.

Ever since the conversation we'd had at Chora's Den, I'd been keeping away from her as best as I could. I'd also been trying to keep well away from Lena and Henry. Which meant that I spent my time locked in my office, reading reports of casualties and failed missions.

I sighed as I tapped my talons on my desk, reading reports of some sort of operation against Cerberus on Noveria.

_I'm getting tired of reading these. _I thought to myself, _They always sound great, until the Reapers come in after the N7 guys and mows everything down. I should distract myself. Maybe check up on Allison and see how she's doing._

I got up from my desk and entered the elevator, finding it mercifully empty. I rode it up to the bridge and walked around the galaxy map towards the cockpit.

That was, until an asari stormed onto the bridge, looking absolutely pissed.

She was one of the purple ones and she looked like she was in the Matriarch stage. She was dressed in a surprisingly simple robe that looked like it'd been smudged with something. Her crests were flattened to her scalp and her dark eyes were positively glistening with rage.

"Where the hell is Colonel Vether?!" She yelled in a raspy voice that was laced with anger.

I looked at her for a moment, confused as her eyes met mine. She clearly wasn't indoctrinated and if her intentions were to kill me, she wouldn't have come storming on this ship screaming my name for everyone to hear. So, chances were, I'd just..._really _pissed this woman off.

Allison looked at her with confusion, as well as a dozen of the crew, both asari and the quarians who'd come up here to check out the controls.

"Uhhh...yeah." I said, hoping I looked as bewildered as I felt. I let my hand drift to my pistol. "That's me."

Her fist started to glow as she stalked towards me.

"Hey!" I yelled in surprise, drawing my pistol quickly and not even having to aim as I found the barrel in her face. She seemed to pause as there was a flurry of movement around the bridge, with over a dozen people drawing their weapons on the asari woman. She glanced round at them before looking back at me.

"Who the hell told you that you could just take my girls?" She barked.

"Your girls?" I repeated, nonplussed.

"My battalion." she explained through gritted teeth.

"Your ba-you mean those commandos?"

"Yes!" She yelled angrily. I almost backed up a step. I'd beaten a Cerberus assassin near to death less than a week ago and this woman was thoroughly intimidating me. "My girls."

"Hold on." I said, still not lowering the pistol. Not much to my surprise, everyone else still had their weapons leveled at the woman, too. "Isn't it a little late to be worried about 'your girls'? You are aware that they were stranded in a siege for a week and a half, right? Where were you when we were in the middle of pulling them out of there?"

The biotic energy disappeared, but she jabbed at my chest with a finger as she spoke.

"I tried to convince asari high command that we needed to send a strike group in there." She seethed, "Those glorified bimbos are so damn worried about Thessia that they're ignoring everything else. Do you know what it's like to be ignored by your leaders when you're the only one that can see what's going on?"

"Yes." I replied, still keeping my weapon out. "We were ignored for three years. Now the Reapers have invaded."

There was silence across the bridge and she finally lowered her hand. I slid the pistol back to my hip and weapons across the bridge started going back to their holsters as everyone returned to work.

"If you want what's best for your girls," I said, "Why don't you join them?"

"I can tear a krogan apart with a singularity," She replied, "but I'm no commando."

"They don't need a commando." I told her, "They have two thousand of those. They need hope and they need a strong leader. You could certainly be the latter."

She was silent for a moment.

"How was it?" She asked, "When you got there?"

"Some of the worst conditions I'd ever seen." I told her. "They were starving, dehydrated, grabbing a couple hours of sleep per day and some were committing suicide in the bathrooms. Lieutenant Unia, who you should really promote while we're on the subject, was lacing the building they'd bunkered down in with explosives. The entire battalion was ready to go down, rather than be captured."

"Damn matriarchs." She muttered bitterly. "You'd think, as the most advanced spieces in the galaxy, we would've learned a thing or two about comradarie and honor. I'd warned them that this would happen one day, but what the hell do I know? At the very least, thank you for getting them out of there without losing any of them."

"It's my job, ma'am."

"Matriarch Aethyta." She corrected.

"The offer's still open." I told her, "You don't need to be gunning down krogan. They just need someone over there to look after them."

"I want to." She admitted, "But I have an obligation here. I have to look after my daughter, Liara."

"T'Soni?" I asked, surprised. "She's with Shepard, I'm sure she'll be fine. Unless..."

The matriarch tilted her head at me, curious about where this was going.

"Unless you're watching her because of her...other occupation."

"How the hell do you know about that?" She hissed angrily.

"I found out while I was in a call with her." I explained hastily. "Don't worry, I have no intentions of letting that secret out. But I doubt anyone, asari or otherwise, will be screwing with your daughter while she's under Shepard's wing."

There was a long silence as she thought that over, then the woman nodded.

"I want full command over my girls." She demanded. "You can order us around in the counterattack, but they're under my charge, understand? If you do something I don't like, I'll be coming after you."

"Understood." I told her, "Pack your things and report to Admiral Hackett. He knows where you need to go."

"I-" She started, but I heard a distant boom, one that I easily identified as an explosion.

"What the..." I muttered, until I heard the muffled bangs of gunfire.

I wasn't the only one, either. I saw the engineers glance at each other nervously as Allison gave me a look full of meaning.

"Staff Sergeant!" I yelled, "Get everyone up here with their arms and armor! Now!"

She nodded and turned to her console. I heard her sending out a ship-wide message.

"I knew the war would come here eventually." The asari matriarch growled. I saw her hands glowing again.

"Hey." I called, getting her attention. "Keep yourself alive, alright? I'm pretty sure your girls are dying to see you."

"Admiral Hackett, right?" She asked. I nodded. "I'll be joining them soon, then."

She strode off the ship and I saw her sliding a pistol out of her robes as she went.

Enua arrived first, her expression grim.

"Colonel." She said, "I got word from some Spectres. It's Cerberus. They've flooded the station."

"Dammit." I said. "Staff Sergeant!"

Allison looked back at me again.

"As soon as the team's off the ship, get to the Citadel Fleet." I ordered. "If this is Cerberus, they're going to want to destroy us along with whatever else they're doing."

"I will, sir." She replied.

I waited impatiently for the rest of the team to show up, which they managed to do within minutes.

"Alright, everyone." I said, "Cerberus is on the Citadel. We're getting in the mix and lending a hand. I'm not sure what objective Cerberus is after, but we're not going to let them get it. Ilna, I want you on comms, trying to get in contact with anybody who has a clue what's going on."

"Yes, sir." She replied.

I hefted the Harrier, feeling its familiar weight.

"Let's go." I ordered. I turned and jogged down the ship, exiting the airlock onto our dock. I turned right with my team behind me and we entered the docking bay.

The spacious bay was a flurry of terror. There were a bunch of Cerberus troopers in shiny white and gold armor who had lined all of the civilians up against a wall and created a small firing squad. Some of the civilians were managing to hide behind chairs and such, but they were the minority. Another team of troopers were roaming around.

I gestured for my team to get low. I gestured for Enua and Barin to get to the desk opposite my corner and they did so, crouching down behind it with their weapons ready. We were going to need to kill these troopers quick and accurately, which meant the only weapons we could use were assault rifles.

"Operative Lawson!" I heard one of the troopers call out. I counted seven of them, al carying the same weapon I clutched in my hands. "We know you're in here. Do you want all of these innocent civilians to die because you're a coward?"

He looked at the firing squad and was about to give them a signal. I looked at Enua and nodded to her. I raised up around the corner to shoot, until I heard a voice.

"Wait!" A heavily accented voice called out. I paused and gave Enua the signal to stand down.

A woman in a tight-fitting white and black Cerberus suit stepped out from behind a counter, her hands raised in surrender. She was voluptuous, to put it lightly, with long dark hair and big brown eyes that were glancing around in frustration. Her eyes met mine for the briefest moment and I saw a sliver of hope reach them.

If she was an Operative and they were searching for her, that made her a defector. It seemed like the only humans Cerberus was truly interested in were those who were Shepard's companions, so I took a leap of faith in assuming this woman could handle herself. I gave her a nod and she looked back to the trooper approaching her without giving me a sign she even saw me.

_Smart woman._

"Kai Leng wants to speak with you, bitch." The lead trooper said as the four converged on her.

"I'm not in the mood for conversation." She said, letting them close in around her.

She struck so suddenly that I almost missed it. She threw herself to the side, slamming into a startled Cerberus trooper and knocking him to the ground while she threw out a ball of biotic energy at the lead trooper.

"Now!" I yelled. I swung out from behind a corner as I heard the chattering of an SMG, focusing on the firing squad. I raised my weapon and aimed at the farthst of the three troopers. I depressed the trigger and his head disappeared in a cloud of red. The other two troopers dropped with him, quickly brought down by Enua and Barin.

I aimed in at the group of troopers around the Operative to find them all dead. The woman stood amongst the bodies, panting slightly.

_Shepard certainly knows how to pick them. _

"You'd be Colonel Vether, then?" She asked as I approached her with the rest of my team. I wasn;t too surprised that she knew me on sight. If she had been Cerberus, she'd probably read through their files on me a couple times.

"Yes." I answered. "I'm assuming you're another of Shepard's mischevious band?"

"I was." She confirmed. "I'm on the run right now, investigating my...former employer."

"Well then," I said, "You should probably disappear. We're going to join in the assault above. But if you get any information that'll let us strike out at Cerberus, feel free to pass it on."

"I will, Colonel." she replied. "Thank you."

The woman disappeared around the opposite corner we'd come in through and was gone. I looked to the rest of my team.

"We'll go up by six." I said. "I'll take the first group."

Henry, Ilna, Errahe, Urre and (Unfortunately) April joined me on the elevator and we rode it up in silence. We were almost to the Presidium, when the elevator came to a sudden stop and we were plunged into darkness.

"What the hell?" Henry muttered.

"Colonel," Lena reported, "They cut the power down here."

"Yeah." I replied as April turned on a flashlight and started running it over the ceiling of the elevator, "We're stuck in here, too. Put your hemets on, because they may be trying to gas you. We'll find a way out of this elevator and get up to the Preisidium. You get the civilians back and defend that bay. Chances are good that you'll be seeing some Cerberus forces on you, soon."

"Good." She said, "We can absorb enough troops to drain the main assault."

My thoughts exactly.

"Good luck." I told her, then turned to my team. I couldn't see them, but I could hear the anxious breathing of every single one of them.

"Here." April said, the beam of her flashlight on a hatch to the top.

"That'll work." I agreed. "Here."

I held both of my hands together and backed up against the wall of the elevator. Ilna placed a foot on my hands and I pushed her up as she placed the other on the shoulder of my armor. She pulled herself out of the elevator.

I repeated this for the other two, then jumped up and caught the edge of the hatch. I pulled myself halfway up with a grunt, but this armor was a lot heavier than it looked. I got abotu halfway and felt hands pulling me up. I looked up at Errahe and gave him a nod of thanks as he helped me the rest of the way.

"Where's the nearest door?" I wondered. April looked around with the flashlight in hand.

"We got lucky." She said, indicating one right above us.

Errahe and I managed to force the door open enough that everyone could slide through it. Ilna and April went first, to scope out the situation up there, followed by Urre. Errahe and I rotated through the door and let it close behind us.

The Presidium was a mess. Everywhere I looked, there were C-Sec engangin Cerberus troops in a scene that vividly reminded me of the Battle of the Citadel. I decided which direction we'd go in immediately, to guard the Citadel Tower.

"Over here!" I yelled, surging forward towards an overturned vehicle with a pair of C-Sec officers behind it. I slid in next to them, my team coming to a stop next to me. Rounds skipped off of the barricade as I looked at the pair of terrified humans.

"How many we got?" I asked.

"Six." The nearest of the two answered. I looked around and found a door to our left that led into a shop. The shop had windows that looked out on the Cerberus troopers, who were scrambling for cover as my team opened up on them.

"Holy shit, that's Zeta!" One of them yelled.

I popped over the barricade and fired at one that was too slow to get behind a barrier. A trio of rounds took him in the throat, dropping the gurgling man to the ground.

"Flank them." I said, gesturing to the door. "We'll keep them busy over here and you guys lay into them from the side."

"I...I..." The C-Sec officer started, terrified. the other one didn't look much better. There was an explosion in the distance that made them both flinch.

"Hey!" I yelled, grabbing him by the shoulder roughly. "You want to save your life?! I'm telling you how!"

He nodded and I popped back over the barricade, letting out a pair of rounds that forced a troopers head down as they ran for the door. They entered and seemed to disappear. I ducked back down behind the car and looked at Henry.

It was creepy, how expressionless he was. We might as well have been in an art museum, for all of the interest he was showing. He had his pistol out, since this wasn't exactly the situation for a sniper rifle.

"You alright?!" I yelled as Errahe let out a stream of supressing fire next to me.

He just nodded.

I heard the chattering of a pair of Avengers joining the battle as a window shattered. I looked over the barricade to see the C-Sec officers firing at the troopers from their side. Without cover, they started to fall, four of them dead before they could react. The fifth scrambled backwards from cover to get away, but Errahe shot him in the back with a string of fire from his Locusts.

"Alright." I said, standing up, "That's-"

My words were interrupted when I felt a blow against my armor and the clang of steel on steel. I stumbled forward as the rest of the group cried out in clear alarm. I managed to turn and saw a small human dressed in a skintight white suit carrying a sword.

_What is it with swords?_

I fired a spray of bullets in front of me, but the woman was _fast_. She darted out of the way, then was in front of Henry as he turned to engage her. She changed her grip on the sword and stuck it straight through his belly, effectively implaing him.

"No!" I yelled, raising my weapon as everyone yelled behind me. I didn't have a clear shot and growled in anger. I boosted to the side to edge around as Henry's arm shot out.

He grabbed the woman by the arm, forcing her to keep the sword inside him as she tried to jerk away in a panic. He pulled his pistol up and emptied the clip into her chest. She cried out as blood sprayed from the wounds in her back and they both tumbled to the ground.

"Henry!" April yelled. She rushed over to him and started to check him over.

"Shit." He grunted, his eyes unfocused as they darted around quickly, "This hurts."

There was nothing I could do, so as I watched the two of them with no small amount of worry, I pulled up comms.

"Admiral," I said, speaking to Lena over comms, "How are you holding up there?"

"They just keep throwing themselves at us." Lena answered immediately, "But I've heard their comms chatter. They've got an entire company that's going to try to fight through C-Sec. Just so they can kill you and Gerrard."

"That might not be too hard." I muttered. "Lieutenant Gerrard is down. Some woman with a sword ran him through."

"Yeah." She replied, "One of those tried that with Krieg. He just snapped her neck. Gerrard's going to be okay, right?"

I looked down at April, who was over a now-unconscious Henry. She met my eyes and I saw the worry there. She just shrugged.

"We don't know."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Just keep it up, alright?"

"We will." She said, before cutting off the line.

I looked around and found a Cerberus shuttle nearby. I looked at the two C-Sec officers and had an idea.

"You two, come here." I ordered the C-Sec Officers. They both rushed over, awaiting instruction. "Grab him and get him to Huerta immediately. April?"

"Over here." She beckoned them. They rushed over to her and she replaced her hand with theirs on his wound. "Keep pressure there and keep him on his side, it'll slow the bleeding. Do _not_ try to take the sword out, understand?"

"Yes ma'am." They replied.

"Get him to that shuttle." I told them, "Make sure you let Huerta know you're C-Sec."

"We will, sir."

I watched with worry as they pulled Henry off towards the shuttle. When they departed and started flying out to the east, I looked back to my team. I saw anger and indignation on each face, a sentiment that I certainly mirrored.

"Let's go." I ordered.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Errahe Trenel - Salarian, Special Tasks Group**_  
_**First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army**_  
_**April Janson - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Batarian Colonies Army - Unknown**_  
_**Batarian Civilian Patrol - 1,700 Fighters, 300 Frigates**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_  
_**Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships**_  
_**Asari Commandos - 2,000 Biotic Troops**_


	78. Chapter 78

"I'll give it to you plain." Commander Bailey was telling me over comms. Ilna had managed to get him on for me to speak to. "With Shepard chasing the Councilors and my men scattered across the Citadel, it's looking like you're about to meet the bulk of the Cerberus forces."

"Fantastic." I grumbled as a bullet ricocheted off the ground next to me. I pulled my leg a little closer to my chest to make a smaller target.

We'd spent the last hour working our way up through the Presidium, killing dozens of Cerberus troops on the way. We'd managed to free up over a hundred C-Sec officers. About a dozen of them had been willing to come with us, while the rest of the C-Sec officers restored order in the areas we'd already been.

"It's not all bad." The C-Sec commander said, "It looks like these Cerberus assholes lost a couple of platoons to the other half of your team and they're backing off down there. Your ship even picked 'em up and rejoined the Citadel Fleet. The Executor's dead, but I've rallied my men up to the Citadel Tower. They're managing to hold it, for the moment. You're going to be coming in right behind Cerberus lines up there."

"How many?"

"A lot." He said, "About a company-sized element. Another group that size was headed your way. I heard their radio chatter, they were coming for you and your team. Unfortunately for them, I have control of all the elevators they're coming up through, so they're going to get a very nasty surprise when they get to the top and enter free-fall."

"Thanks, Bailey." I said.

"No problem." He told me, "Just get my boys' asses out of the fire and protect the Tower and we'll call it even, huh?"

"Sounds good." I answered. "How's Shepard doing?"

"The Council has a Spectre with them." He said, "I can't get in touch with that woman- the Spectre- or any of the Councilors, in fact, because Cerberus is jamming their comms. So they're playing cat and mouse with Cerberus assassins while Shepard's in pursuit. She's catching up, but the assassins aren't playing around, either. We have rescued Valern, though, so there's that."

"Have you heard anything about Captain Gerrard?"

"Not a peep." He said.

"Understood."

I sighed as I shut off the comms and waved the group of C-Sec officers on cover to the right as we faced down a dozen or so Cerberus troopers. The C-Sec group snuck down the stairs to the right, to a lower landing that'd allow them to flank the troopers. It was the same trick we'd been pulling this whole time, tried and true.

The air smelled of smoke, blood and sweat. The screaming and wailing of civilians was a rare sound now. Due to the length of the battle, most of the civilians trapped in the fight had either been secured or were dead. Now the air was filled with gunfire, explosions, the screaming of the wounded and the yelling of orders.

I raised myself from over a little and saw a Centurion peeking out from behind a low wall with his weapon ready. I fired a burst that caught him in the face. The first few rounds knocked him backwards and dropped his shields, while the last two tore into his head and sent him tumbling backwards.

We were running low on ammo. The troops we came across had plenty, but it was a game of suppression with us, since we were the attackers. So we usually ended up using more rounds than we gained. As such, I'd been forced to come up with new tactics to deal with the invaders. Most of it involving melee.

I ducked down as a volley of return fire sounded. I looked at the rest of the team, who were as ready as they were going to be. The gunfire ended so the Cerberus troops could reload.

"Fire!" I yelled. We all stood from our cover and started firing with very sporadic pistol fire, keeping the Cerberus troopers down. At the same time, the C-Sec officers opened fire from the right, cutting down half of the remaining troops.

"Charge!" I yelled.

I jumped over the barricade, my heart pumping with adrenaline and exhilaration. I started dashing towards the Cerberus troopers, who had turned to deal with the new threat. The C-sec officers stopped firing suddenly. I focused on a Cerberus trooper crouched behind a low wall close to the middle and jumped over his cover, landing behind him.

"Wha-" He started, right before I lashed out with my foot, crushing his helmet between the metal of the wall and the metal of my foot. There was a brief cry, then silence. I looked around to find that the rest of my team had dealt with the troopers just as efficiently. I lowered my pistol at the trooper's head and fired, putting the human down for good.

With a flash of hope, I realized that we were in the plaza across from the Citadel Tower entrance. I estimated thirty C-Sec officers there, using the structures around the area and their vehicles for makeshift cover.

There were two other plazas like this one. One of the plazas was to the west of our plaza, while the other was to the north, across from the Citadel Tower plaza. The C-Sec officers that had been defending against this direction gave tired waves before joining with the other two defenses. I realized that this provided a very good opportunity.

"Everyone stay down!" I yelled to my team and the C-Sec agent behind me. They stayed behind cover as I got back in touch with Commander Bailey.

"Bailey." I instructed when the comms channel opened up. "Look at your screens. Can you see us over here by the Tower?"

There was a pause, then:

"Yeah, I see you."

"See if you can get supplies and fresh officers over here." I ordered, "We've cleared a path for you."

"You got it, Colonel." He said, "I'd recommend you keep those officers at that plaza. We've got an access tunnel near there we get bring supplies and heavy weapons through, now that you've cleared it out."

"I'll do just that, Commander." I agreed.

"Out."

I looked at the men and women around me, who were watching me expectantly.

I felt a flash of pride when I looked at the C-Sec officers, most of whom were human and turian. There was a somewhat familiar-looking asari there too, but I couldn't place her. Still, these C-Sec officers could've stayed in the back with the rest of those restoring order to the parts of the Presidium we'd left behind. They didn't, though, finding the courage to join us on an extremely dangerous assault.

"Alright guys." I said, flashing a smile at the C-Sec officers. "After all this, you've got the easy mission. I need you to stay here and keep this area locked down until Bailey gets heavy weapons, supplies and fresh officers in here to relieve the fight in front of the Tower. You got that?"

"Yes, sir." The lead turian replied, turning to his men and issuing orders.

"Admiral." I asked Lena over a new channel, "How are things over there?"

"We got to the Fleet safely." She said, "The Cerberus Fleet has been repelled and now C-Sec is just trying to take care of the troopers."

"Acknowledged." I replied, before looking over at Ilna.

"I..." she started, sounding very uncertain. I already knew what she was going to ask, but decided to let her struggle with it instead of giving her a hand and cutting her off. "Has there been any news on our wounded?"

"You mean Captain Gerrard?" I replied, well aware of the harsh tone of my voice, "We don't care about the well-being of murderers in this unit, do we, Admiral?

There was a very icy silence over the comms unit and I figured I wouldn't be hearing from her at least until the end of this assault. I looked over at Ilna, who had a grin on her face. I assumed it was from hearing me knock Lena down a few pegs.

"We need to reinforce them and do some damage." I told her. "You stay back here with the Widow. Your priority is counter-sniping. I don't want to have to contend with those damn snipers they have."

"You got it." She answered.

"Other than that, pick out your shots for the most damage." I told her.

"I will, Colonel."

"Urre, Errahe, April." I ordered, "You're with me. Let's move."

I swung out from behind cover and dashed towards the center of the plaza, where I saw a turian giving orders to a small group of turians. He was down behind a large advertisement that was filled with bullet holes.

"Colonel Vether, STT Zeta." I introduced as I slid down next to him, my team following suit.

"Thank the Spirits you arrived." The turian said, "I'm Lieutenant Bernus. Are you bringing reinforcements now?"

"Not right this second." I told him, "We're going to help you out here until supplies and heavier weapons show up."

"Thank you, Colonel." He replied.

"Where can we help?"

"We're taking fire from shoulder-fired rockets from over on that side-" He told me, pointing towards the plaza on our left. "And we're getting flooded with troopers on the other one."

"Ilna." I directed into my comms unit, "New priority. I need you to start firing on and disabling their rocket launchers. Counter-sniping is secondary."

"Yes, sir."

"We'll help out at the other one." I told Lt. Bernus. "Just make sure you let us know when you start getting help, alright?"

"Yes, sir."He responded again. He subtly pointed out a human who had grabbed a fellow C-Sec officer by the shoulder and was yelling something in the man's ear. "That's Sergeant Sterling. Used to be Alliance Marines. He's in charge up there."

"Good man." I told him, clasping forearms with him.

I heard the boom of Ilna's rifle and an explosion off to my left as I started running. I smiled, though the smile evaporated when a round missed my arm by what sounded like inches.

"Sergeant Sterling?" I asked as I crouched down behind what used to be a column that had been pulled down for cover.

"Yes." Said the human. I abruptly realized that this human was familiar. I couldn't place where I'd seen him, though. "Are you backup?"

"Temporarily." I answered, "Until a supply line to this fight gets set up."

"Understood." He said, "We could use some more bodies on the right, sir."

"I'm on it." I replied.

I gestured to Errahe, Urre and April. The three of them followed me up to a barricade on the right, which had two dead C-Sec officers and three exhausted C-Sec officers.

We stacked up on the barricade they'd created themselves out of the body of an Atlas. I glanced over the barricade just in time to see a grenade tossed our way. It landed on the ground, beeping furiously as everyone looked at it in horror. I scooped it up and tossed it right back without aiming, probably because I was in a little bit of a rush. It exploded midway between us and we all crouched as shrapnel rained onto the Atlas' body.

April and I popped up over cover. I put a trio of rounds into the chest of a trooper and she plugged a pair into the face of a Centurion. As the trooper I shot dropped, the Centurion stumbled backwards as his shields dropped, enabling Errahe to fire fully into the big man's chest. With a startled cry, the man went down.

The next ten minutes was some of the most exhausting I'd ever faced. We'd been assaulting non-stop for the last hour, which was a lot different from defending a position. With the assault, there was constant movement and firing and maneuvering. On defense, you stayed put, fired occasionally and waited until the bigger guns got there or a condition was met.

So for the next ten minutes, I took potshots, sometimes hitting something and sometimes just keeping the Cerberus troops from advancing.

I was relieved when two entire squads of C-Sec officers took the defense, just on our side of the barrier. I looked over to see another two take the left side. These ones were heavily armed, with shotguns, sniper rifles and grenades to go with the standard pistols and assault rifles.

"You're a lifesaver, Bailey." I said over comms. "Your reinforcements are taking up the defense."

"Don't get too excited." He warned, "I was just about to call you. There's someone in the Tower who's screwing around on the central terminal. I'm not sure, but he's probably trying to pull the same crap that Saren did."

"We're on our way." I said, gesturing to my people. "Ilna, stay back here to help the defense clear out Cerberus."

"Yes, sir."

"I've got one of our networkers slowing him down." Bailey said, "Hurry."

We dashed to the elevator and I slammed my hand on the control. We waited outside tensely, expecting a shot to come from anywhere, but apparently C-Sec was doing a good job of keeping them repelled.

After a minute, the elevator door opened and we backed into it, weapons pointed outwards. With a small hiss, the door closed.

As we started up, I abruptly realized that Urre was in here. I was hoping that wouldn't bite me in the ass.

"Colonel." Bailey said, "Good news. Shepard managed to reach the Council. They're all safe, save for Udina. Apparently, he was the mastermind of this whole coup attempt."

That was strange. What the hell was a Councilor doing trying to kill the entire Council? Making a power grab at a time like this was a very bad idea and Udina should've been smart enough to realize that.

_Doesn't matter. _I told myself, _We've got to deal with whoever's up there._

"Is the guy up there Cerberus?" I asked Bailey.

"I couldn't tell." He admitted, "The camera was too far away. It looks like he's moved away and my programmer is telling me that the hacking attempt has stopped. Maybe he knew you were coming?"

"Maybe." I agreed, "But we'll secure it. Just in case."

"I'll send a platoon on up there to follow you." Bailey promised.

Then the door opened and we were left alone in the Council Chambers of the Citadel Tower.

There were three levels of this place, followed by the console at the end that was facing a dais with four terminals. This was where the Council met with everyone and discussed...everything they discussed out in the open. I had been up there before, staring into the glass that covered the garden below the pedestal and wondered if anyone had ever fallen in there.

The ceiling was pretty far up and the entire three-levels area seemed inlaid with plants, gardens and benches. Up near the front, there was even a small but serene fountain.

"Stay alert." I warned everyone as we started towards the console at the end of the Chambers. I looked around cautiously with every step I took, unable to find a threat anywhere.

_Maybe it was that Cerberus assassin. _I mused. _He would've probably ran if he found out me and two other combatants were coming._

We were on the stairs to the top level when I heard a small metallic sound behind me. I made to jump, but whoever had thrown the grenade had held it for a second to ensure it exploded without delay when it hit the ground.

I was nearly driven to the floor from a blast that rang through my ears and sent pain through my entire body.

_A concussive grenade. _

There was sudden gunfire, muffled and confusing. I turned, incredibly dizzy as I tried to figure out just what in the hell was going on.

Errahe was down, with three bullet wounds pumping blood from his chest. Urre was on the flat of his back, still moving but dazed. April had been a little ways off from the explosion and was now returning fire at something above me.

_Above me. _

I jumped as best as I could, landing in a confused jumble but managing to turn it into a roll as I heard something slam into the ground I'd just vacated. I made it to my feet and whipped around to face our assailant.

It was the same turian from Tuchunka, Major Varyss Enyil. The Spectre's black face was nearly covered in white clan marking and his cold blue eyes glared at me.

There was no talking, not a moment of inaction. He was a Spectre, the best that the galaxy had. He knew that I wasn't a pushover, even in my current state.

He raised a gun at me and fired just as I dived out of the way, bringing my Harrier up to my chest as I sailed towards the fountain. I rolled through the shallow water as a grenade exploded behind the fountain, showering me with ceramic. That grenade had been explosive.

There was a rattle of three very fast rounds as April tried to ward him away, but he turned and fired at her. I heard a cry as she crumpled, unconscious. Varyss jumped into the fountain with me and I knew I was in for a fistfight just between the two of us.

I dropped my weapon and backed up as I stood, to get enough distance between us that I could get my hands up. He swung out towards my face and in my still-dazed condition, I wasn't able to stop the hit in time. the blow to my face was powerful and sent me reeling, but I had an answer of my own. I brought my cybernetic hand up into his jaw, staggering the Spectre and knocking him backwards.

One of the advantages of having a cybernetic hand was that it was made out of metal, which made fistfights a dangerous game for my enemies.

Varyss seemed to realize this as he kicked out towards my legs, dropping me to the ground. I pulled my pistol out and got a round off that hit him in the shoulder, sending him stumbling backwards. I rolled backwards and to my feet, ready to put some rounds on him, but found myself staring at the end of his grenade launcher. He smiled as he fired a grenade at me, almost point blank.

The grenade didn't quite have the time to arm itself in the distance between us, so I felt the breath crushed from my lungs as it slammed into my armor, getting stuck halfway through the breastplate.

_Then _it detonated.

My vision went black as I was thrown bodily into a wall behind me. I didn't feel pain, only complete and utter confusion as I found myself unable to breathe. I couldn't manage to more my limbs and could only look up, swiftly dying, as the Spectre stalked towards me, hefting the launcher again.

There was a yell as inaccurate but still dangerous rounds skipped off his armor, sending the confused Spectre reeling. I looked past him to see Urre, salarian GNN combat reporter, firing a pistol at the Spectre furiously. Varyss seemed to grin as my vision darkened, quickly raising his own weapon to take out the non-combatant.

With a high-pitched cry of enraged defiance, a bloody and mortally wounded Errahe streaked across my vision, wrapping his arms around the turian and sending them both over the rail of the dais. I heard the shattering of glass below me, followed by the bone-jarring thud of bodies hitting the ground below.

All of it happened in seconds, before I could fully bleed out. Now, though, the familiar weariness was encroaching.

"Roluck!" I heard April yell, just before I gave in to the darkness.

_**This will be the last chapter for a week. I want everyone to get time to catch up who might just have started the stories, but I went back and changed a few things.**_

_**1. I added Lia'Vael in as a shuttle pilot. You might recall her as the quarian who was accused of theft in the second game.  
**_

_**2. I've revised the other end as the Shepard siblings, male and female. One is Commander Jane Shepard and the other is First Sergeant John Shepard with Garrus and Tali, respectively. I'm basically redoing it because I made another fic that's going to run alongside this one and be much more according to story.  
**_

_**Anyways, Chapters 77 and 78 were new ones (I think), so I've restored everything.  
**_

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army**_  
_**April Janson - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Batarian Colonies Army - Unknown**_  
_**Batarian Civilian Patrol - 1,700 Fighters, 300 Frigates**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_  
_**Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships**_  
_**Asari Commandos - 2,000 Biotic Troops**_


	79. Chapter 79

I woke up in an uncomfortable state, feeling aches and pain I'd never felt before. I heard the soft muttering of distant conversation, smelled the pungent scent of disinfectant and could taste my own blood. I felt pleasantly warm, as well as the feel of fabric against my skin.

_I'm alive?_

How was that possible?

"He's waking up!" I heard someone nearby yell. People started to move around me as I opened my eyes. "Get Admiral Hackett."

I was in a hospital room, that much I could tell. Huerta Memorial, if I wasn't mistaken. I felt a small sense of relief, privately terrified that I'd woken up in an enenmy hospital and that they'd kept me alive for the intents of figuring out where my army was.

The room was decent, I guess. There was a window that looked out at the Citadel, which was not as pretty as it used to me. I saw sections of the Presidium that were charred, with some areas featuring thin trails of smoke that reached to the artificial sky.

There was a bookshelf across from me, but other than that I was surrounded by medical equipment of all sorts, one of them making a soothing beep every once in a while to remind me that my heart was still going. Sunlight filtered through the room, soft and soothing.

I made to lift my arm and was surprised to find that it responded. After all that, I'd expected paralysis in all of my limbs. I found myself dressed in some sort of white hospital robe. At least they'd had the decency to cover me up.

"Colonel Vether." One of the doctors said, a harried-looking salarian, "Please don't move, for now."

"Alright." I said. I noticed that my voice was a little different. My normal voice was fine, but the flange was the slightest bit mechanical. "How long have I been down?"

"A few days."The doctor answered with a smile. "You were in very critical condition, but we also gave you some help to wake you up earlier."

"About that." I said, "Exactly how did I survive that?"

"With a lot of help from someone inside Cerberus." The doctor replied. "Someone sent over some notes on Commander Shepard's reconstruction and we were able to duplicate some of it for you. The damage wasn't as extensive as hers', of course."

I wasn't deterred by the soft sell. He was dancing around something and I needed to know what it was.

"How extensive?" I asked. "Whatever you're not telling me, doctor, I'll find out later. Hopefully not while I'm in the middle of combat."

The salarian paused, then said,

"About twenty percent."

"That's a lot." I muttered. While it didn't sound like it at first, ten percent was a lot of reconstruction when talking about small parts of the body.

"Some of it was facial reconstruction." The doctor revealed, "Your face took a good bit of shrapnel from the blast, since it was unshielded. Beyond that, everything else was it decent shape. We had to rebuild a couple of the vocal cords of the throat, which is why you probably noticed your flange sounds nearly robotic."

"Damn." I grunted.

"Your heart took the worst of it." The doctor said, "Though the armor was able to deflect some it, several coronary arteries were severed by the blast and you took shrapnel directly to the organ. We had to build arterial clamps and a piece of technology to keep your heart pumping. There was also minor damage to other internal organs that we were able to correct."

"That's extremely advanced." I observed, suspicious.

"Because it's Reaper tech." He answered.

**"WHAT?!"**

"At ease, Colonel." Came a rough voice at the door. Admiral Hackett stood tall in the doorway, as did Garrus and (Surprisingly) Councilor Sparatus.

"Reaper tech, sir?" I repeated, angry.

"Calm down, Roluck." Garrus replied from his side. "Shepard's fitted with a lot of it herself and it hasn't had an adverse effect, aside from the scarring."

I groaned, then remembered the final moments of the battle with Varyss.

"I take it Errahe was killed?" I asked quietly.

"He's KIA." Admiral Hackett confirmed. "He was already flatlined when C-Sec got there."

I nodded, not at all surprised. It was hard to imagine one of the oldest members of STT Zeta going down.

_He'd always been so funny, for a guy that could kill everything in a mile radius. _I remembered, feeling a sad smile tug at my face, _Always knew what to say to keep people cheerful and moving._

"Henry?"

"He was released yesterday." Admiral Hackett reported. "They were able to repair the damage done to his stomach pretty easily, though he needed another day of rest."

"Cerberus?" I asked.

"Kicked right the hell off this station." Garrus answered before Admiral Hackett could get a word in. "As much as I hate to admit it, you and your team broke their backs."

"Good." I muttered. I felt like I was forgetting something.

_That fucking Spectre._

"And Varyss?"

Admiral Hackett shook his head.

"There was a lot of turian blood next to First Sergeant Trenel's body," Admiral Hackett answered, "But the Spectre got away."

"I'll be seeing him again." I promised aloud. "Next time, he won't get the jump on me."

"I wanted to thank you, Colonel." Admiral Hackett said, a grim smile on his face. "You saved a lot of C-Sec and civilians. Not to mention that if Cerberus or Varyss had gotten the station, they would've let the Reapers waltz right in and shut down the Mass Relays, leaving us in one hell of a bind."

"It's my job, Admiral." I told him, slowly pushing myself up the headboard until I was sitting.

"And you do a damn good job of it." He agreed. "Speaking of which, I've sent some new weapons to the SSV Vengeance, mostly advanced N7 weapons. I also sent over some omni-blades, one for each member of your team and a few spares."

"Thank you, sir."

"Now," The human Admiral said, "I have to get back to my duties in choosing a new Councilor."

He left the room, leaving me alone with the two turians. Garrus was staring at Councilor Sparatus, clearly wanting him to do whatever he had to do so the two of us could speak plainly.

"Vether." Sparatus said, "I'd like to thank you on behalf of the entire turian race, not to mention the galactic community, for your defense of the Citadel. This galaxy might've very well fallen early, had you not been here to stop it. We're adding the Star of Valor to your file and your actions will be written in the history of Blackwatch."

"Thank you, Councilor." I said, "Sorry I ruined the armor you bought for me."

"Considering what you ruined it for," Sparatus said, the older turian smiling, "I'm more than willing to accept the loss. Now, I have something I wanted to discuss with you."

"What is it?" I asked.

"The Executor was killed in the attack." Councilor Sparatus said. "The Executor, as you know, is a position that has long been held by turians and the Executor is charged with overseeing the operations of C-Sec both on the Citadel and in Citadel Space. In wartime, he controls the armed forces of the Citadel, C-Sec included. However..."

"Shepard has suggested Commander Bailey for the position." Garrus continued for the Councilor. "A human Executor is unheard of, but a lot of C-Sec are clamoring for it. Her word carries a lot of weight...as would yours."

"He's exactly the kind of person that needs to be running C-Sec." I agreed. "The man is a hero himself, though I doubt he'll admit it."

"We'll take it into consideration." Councilor Sparatus. "Your team, by the way, should be here in a couple hours. I sent them a message that you were awake and they just finished grabbing some techs from Reaper space to help you out with the mechs you all have. I need to get back to my duties. The galaxy needs to see us still going about business. Have a good day and thanks again, Vether."

"Thank you, Councilor." I replied as he exited. Then I was left alone in the room with Garrus and that salarian doctor.

"Give us the room, will you?" Garrus asked the salarian. The doctor looked like he wanted to argue, but Garrus could be pretty damn intimidating if he needed to be.

"If anything happens, yell." The salarian said, before stepping outside.

From a pocket of his armor, Garrus produced a small bottle of liquor and tossed it to me. I caught it in my cybernetic hand, luckily managing to avoid crushing it.

"Figured you needed some_ real _medicine." He said, his mandibles turning up in a grin.

"It's good to see you, Garrus." I said, "Glad to see you made it through the attack."

"Please." Garrus muttered, "One look at me and I had all those Phantoms swooning."

"You're an ugly son of a bitch, Garrus." I said, amused. "You know that."

"You might want to look in a mirror now, Roluck." He said solemnly. I cocked my head at him and he looked around for something as I put the bottle down under the sheets. He pulled a metal tray off my nightstand and cleared the medical instruments off of it before handing it to me.

I thought the banshee scars had been bad, but this was something else. I sucked in a sharp breath involuntarily at the sight of it.

My face had been torn apart. Half of my left mandible had been blown off and rebuilt entirely out of cybernetics (Much like my hand). There were little veins of blue running through it and all the way through a heavily scarred cheek and up to my eye.

My left eye looked the same, save for one thing. Instead of my normal pupil, there was some sort of blue light behind it. I was once again reminded of Shepard as the baleful glow stared back at me.

Little veins of blue ran down my right jawline and overtop of my forehead and curled around to the left crests. I cringed at the sight of it, unable to fathom the amount of cybernetics that had gone into my face.

"Dammit." I muttered as Garrus took the tray back. I opened up the bottle and took half of it right on the spot. I noticed Garrus eying me critically at the action. "What?"

"You're laying it on pretty well." He observed lightly.

I sighed. There were very few people in the galaxy I could talk to on a personal level. Garrus was one of them.

"Things are going to hell." I said. "Errahe was one of my oldest friends. Hell, we joined Zeta at the same time. We were both the new guys, back then. One of our team was forced to kill another and...my team's breaking apart and I'm..well..."

"The same as ever." Garrus continued for me.

"Yeah." I said, "That's about it."

"We had a friend die in the attack too." Garrus admitted. "Thane. He was a good man, for an assassin. I'll miss him."

"To our fallen friends." I toasted somberly, before downing another gulp. I handed the rest of the bottle to Garrus.

"To our fallen friends." He agreed quietly, following my example. He emptied the rest of the bottle in a sip and tucked it back into his armor.

"Before I leave," He said, his voice a little more business-like, "Shepard wanted me to thank you for saving Kasumi and Lawson. Kasumi's on the Normandy now and Miranda managed to flee the station safely."

"Yeah." I said. "I'm glad I could save Kasumi from that creep."

"We met him, you know." Garrus said. "He tried to kill Valern during the attack, then tried to beat us to the Council. He mentioned you. Said he'd get to you when he was finished with us."

"That's just talk." I informed Garrus. "After what I did to him, I doubt he'd even try to shoot me in the back with a Widow."

Garrus chuckled.

"There's Roluck." He told me. "Anyways, I'm sure we'll see each other again. Get up on your feet and back to kicking Reapers ass soon."

"Yeah." I said, "Though you might want to start doing it, too."

Garrus laughed as he exited the room, leaving me completely alone.

I looked at my bedside table and was surprised to see a bouquet of flowers sitting there that I hadn't noticed before. I picked the colorful flowers off of the nightstand and read the little card attached inside.

_Roluck,_

_One of the doctors said humans like to buy flowers for their women when they're hospitalized. Made me think of you._

_-Krieg_

I let out a much-needed laugh and slowly sat up. I knew that getting to my feet was probably a bad idea, but I didn't want to be lying in bed any longer. It'd already been three days.

_You've got to get back. _That tiny voice reminded me, _ Back to your ungrateful crew._

I felt anger at the thought of my team, but managed to push it aside. I had a galaxy to save.

I felt dizzy and a little sick as I stood to my full height. I clutched onto the bedside table to help me balance myself out as I re-adjusted to standing. Unfortunately, the doctor chose that moment to walk in.

"Colonel, no." He ordered strictly, his voice authoritative.

"I'm leaving." I told him, making sure he was aware that there would be no argument. "We've gota doctor on board the ship, but I need to get back to my duties. The war's not going to wait for me to get better."

There was silence as we stared at each other, then the salarian heaved a sigh.

"Just take it easy at first, Colonel." He said.

"I will." I lied.

I walked past him and into the common area of the hospital. The hospital was much busier than the last time I'd been here. People were on the floor, laying on sheets while they were operated on right in the middle of the hallway.

_Damn you, Cerberus._

As I walked to the exit, I noticed the amount of looks I was getting. I had thought it was bad when I had the banshee scars, but it was depressing now. Every time someone looked at me, they quickly averted their eyes and picked up their steps.

_They're scared of me. _I realized dimly.

I decided that I'd get something to eat, first, so I headed to a small restaurant on the Presidium. I didn't want to be in the public eye, right now. Apparently, according to Kasumi, I was semi-famous.

The restaraunt was small, staffed exclusively by asari. When I walked in, the hostess looked up at me with well-hidden fear on her face.

"J-just one?" She asked.

"Yeah." I answered, "Just me."

I ate my meal in silence, trying my best to ignore the stares from everyone around me. I felt a little strange and realized that it'd been a very long time since I'd been by myself on the Citadel. I didn't even really know what to do with myself.

_Am I always going to be like this? _I wondered, _Completely lost unless I'm killing something?_

Following my meal, I headed straight for Chora's Den. As I walked in, I suddenly remembered how dim the lighting was. I was absolutely sure that my cyebrnetics were clearly visible in the darkness and suddenly felt a little bit self-conscious. I heard gasps of alarm and felt a little sick to my stomach as I walked to the bar.

I felt something cool press againt my temple. It was the barrel of some sort of weapon. I heard the click of the weapon being charged and didn't move. While I had no doubts that, even in my state, I could handle whoever was on the other side of that weapon, I didn't feel like fighting my way out of a bar. So I simply stood there, waiting.

"You a Reaper?" I heard a gruff krogan demand.

"No." I responded. "Colonel Vether, STT Zeta."

"What the hell happened to your face?" He growled, still not putting the shotgun away.

"I took a grenade to it." I answered coldly. "While I was defending the Citadel. A week after helping Urdnot Wrex cure the Genophage."

I felt the barrel leave my head and took a brief sigh of relief.

"I'm just here for a drink." I told the krogan, turning to him. Having dealt with Kreig for years, I wasn't the least bit intimidated by the bouncer.

"Sorry, sir." He replied, heading back towards the door to resume his post. I looked back at the bar, where a somewhat harrassed-looking bartender was waiting for me to place my order. I pulled a sixty-credit chit out of my pocket and slid it across the the bar.

"Get me a bottle of turian brandy." I told her. "I'm taking it to go."

She looked like she was going to refuse for a second, then seemed to think better of it as she gave me the bottle. I tucked it into my hospital robes, wondering exactly what I was going to do for armor. I waked past the bouncer, who gave me a respectful nod on the way out.

The journey to Bay R-17 was a spectacularly depressing one. There were still areas of the Citadel that hadn't been repaired from the attack and I saw a lot less people out on the streets. Those that were walking around looked stressed and paranoid, as if waiting for Cerberus to attack again at any moment. Everyone looked scared.

Especially of me.

I did notice, though, that I was getting some friendly waves and acknowledgements from the C-Sec officers as I passed. I returned the gestures, pleased that they'd remembered me.

When I got to the bay's waiting area, I noticed a lot of people waiting, probably outbound to some world they heard about that was much safer. I pitied them as I sat down right up front, staring into the space beyond the Citadel. There was nowhere safe, now. Even the Citadel would soon become a battleground.

As I put the bottle to my lips and took a sip, I heard a voice behind me.

"That's illegal, you know." Came a gravelly voice. I didn't turn around, letting Commander Bailey take a seat next to me. "Drinking in public like that. Good thing you saved the entire galaxy. Again. Or I'd have to arrest you."

I smirked as the human C-Sec commander looked out of the window with me.

"I remember my grandfather talking about always wanting to get up to space." Commander Bailey said. "Two years after he died, The First Contact War started and we realized that this galaxy is the same damn thing we had back on Earth."

I chuckled as I took another sip.

"So some damn fools put my name up for Executor and it's looking like it might actually happen." Commander Bailey said, "Apparently, there were two heavy-hitters who supported the action. I don't suppose you'd know anything about that?"

"After what you did," I explained, "You don't only deserve it, but the Citadel needs you. In a month, this place will be attacked by the Reapers. Who better to defend it than the man who's defended it both times it was attacked?"

He sighed and looked out the window again.

"I'm the first non-turian to ever take the position." He muttered. "I'm breaking down racial barriers at the end of the galaxy."

"Start thinking like that and the Reapers will be plowing through here easily." I answered.

_But he's not wrong, is he?_

"I gotta get back to work." He said, picking himself up off the bench gingerly, "Enjoy your drink."

"Yeah." I grunted as he walked off.

_Everything's going to hell._

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army**_  
_**April Janson - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Batarian Colonies Army - Unknown**_  
_**Batarian Civilian Patrol - 1,700 Fighters, 300 Frigates**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_  
_**Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships**_  
_**Asari Commandos - 2,000 Biotic Troops**_

**So I guess this was the last one I added. I'll be updating every once in a while, from here on out. I might put up one tomorrow.**_  
_


	80. Chapter 80

I woke to the sound of my omni-tool beeping. I opened my eyes to the space beyond the viewing window.

I looked around and was surprised to see that the bay had pretty much cleared out. Everyone still here seemed to be staying as far from me as feasibly possible.

I checked the time and realized that the Vengeance would be here any moment. Still, I'd been awoken by a message, so I set the empty bottle down and opened the message up. To my surprise, it came from Lena.

_Colonel,  
There's been a development that's pertinent to the mission. A hundred years ago, the Admiralty Board sent a small portion of the fleet out to look for a planet that could sustain quarian life. They lost track of the ships when they stumbled into geth space and they were originally presumed dead, but we intercepted a quarian beacon from a very uncharted area beyond the Far Rim. Might be worth looking into.  
- Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance nar Rayya_

I looked up as the door to our dock opened just in time to see part of my team come through. At the sight of me, they all stopped in their tracks. Lena just kind of stood there, not sure what she should do. Krieg was looking at the cybernetics with no small amount of amusement in his eyes while April looked downright horrified.

"Yeah." I said, "Cybernetics. Reaper tech, apparently. The same stuff they used in Shepard."

"It's..." April started, her eyes nearly shut in concentration at trying to find a kind word for it.

"Hideous, I know." I said, standing up and stretching. I felt popping all down my back, along with a healthy dose of pain in my chest. I ignored it and looked at them. "So this missing quarian group?"

"Yes." Lena said, "Seven hours from here."

"Good." I muttered, "I'll have time to sleep."

"Were you...drinking?" April asked, concern abound in her pale green eyes.

I remembered what Garrus had said earlier and paraphrased him.

"I needed some _real _medicine." I told her. Krieg barked a laugh, but April didn't look any less worried. Still, she relented. That was the important thing. "By the way, Krieg, loved the flowers."

"Thought you would." He grunted with a smirk.

I walked towards the airlock and opened it up. After a few moments of decontamination, I was allowed back onto the ship. Predictably, Allison spun around in her chair to my left to see me. I didn't know if she was up for smartass commentary yet, but maybe there'd been enough distance from Eryc by now.

Anything she was going to say died in her throat, though, her emerald eyes gazing at my face critically. The asari crewmembers did a double take.

"Jesus...sir..." She muttered, "What the hell happened?"

"I'll discuss it upstairs." I told her. "Get everyone up to the War Room and have your crew autopilot us out there."

"Yes, Colonel." She replied, starting to type on her omni-tool.

As Krieg, Lena and April filed in behind me, I realized that I had something to do before I got up there. I went down to the shuttle bay, which was mercifully empty as I changed into the armor Henry had made for me nearly a year ago. When I was done, I got right back in the elevator and headed up to first deck. When I stepped into the War Room, I found it already occupied by my team.

"Holy shit." I heard Barin grunt when I came around the end of the circular terminal. I had no doubts that, in the darkness, my cybernetics really stood out worse than they did in the light. I searched for Henry's face in the dim light and found him. He was watching me with vague surprise, but nothing beyond that.

I found myself even more worried, just by the lack of expression on his face.

_What do you care? _I chided myself, _Would he come to your defense i-_

"I took a grenade to the chest." I announced, cutting off the thoughts, "I took severe damage to my heart and arteries. To keep the heart beating and seal off the arteries, they had to install some Reaper tech that they copied from Cerberus. As for the face and my voice, everything from the shoulders up was unprotected during the fight, letting shrapnel in pretty much everywhere."

"So you're going to be okay?" April asked.

"If by 'okay', you mean half-machine, sure." I answered bitterly. "But anyways, that's what happened. I'm back on my feet and ready to continue. Admiral Zuril, let us in on this mission."

"It's more of an investigation." Lena hedged, "But Admiral Zorah passed me off some beacon that Shepard and their crew had found out at the Far Rim. They were busy with something out there, so they weren't able to deal with it themselves. As far as I know, that entire system is geth-controlled space, but..."

"Since we're relatively neutral to them," I said, "We should be able to pass."

"Essentially." She answered. "The space out there is controlled by the geth, but it's a very small portion of what's on the Far Rim and the Perseus Veil. There was a group of quarian ships that went out there with about twenty-thousand people and survey teams to find a planet to settle. When they were not heard from, though, the Admiralty Board declared them dead and got the population back into check."

"But they might not be?" Krieg grunted.

"Exactly." I said. "If they can levy any support, we can go home having accomplished something. Assuming they're alive, of course."

"Is there going to be any memorial for Errahe?" Ilna asked, knocking me off my game completely. I looked at the blond woman, who was looking around for an answer.

"I don't know." I said, "I've been unconscious."

"We don't have memorials like you humans do." Urre answered for me. "I doubt there will be one. Trust me, Errahe will take his place in the Great Wheel."

I nodded to Urre and started speaking again.

"I'm going to get some sleep." I informed them, "I'll have Anna wake me up before we get there."

One by one, they got up and left the room. I waited, not exactly wanting to be stuck on the elevator with them staring at me. When I deemed that enough time had passed, I headed on down to my room and dropped myself into my bed.

"Anna." I managed to mumble, "Wake me an hour out."

"Yes, Colonel."

I was asleep in seconds.

The blessing when my mind went blank is I didn't dream. With dreams came nightmares, every night. The alcohol had shut down my brain so much that nothing reached it while I slept.

It was easily the best sleep I'd had in three years.

When I woke, it was to soft tones that were being played by Anna over the speaker in my room. I opened my eyes, but Anna wasn't merciful or aware enough to keep the lights dim. My vision blurred a little as I adjusted to it, but my sight was back to normal within seconds.

I groaned as I planted my fleet on the floor and stood up, feeling a little wobbly.

_I need a shower._

I spent what felt like three hours in the shower, just letting the water soothe me as I tried to think on what needed to be done on this next mission.

_Too many variables. _I thought to myself. _We have no idea what we're getting into._

I'd just go in expecting a full-blown battle. That usually worked for us.

First stop I'd have to make was at the shuttle bay. I wanted to see what weapons Hackett had been talking about.

_I wouldn't mind some serious heavy weapons. _I thought to myself. _Though I suppose it'd make sense to give those to frontline units on the colonies, since they'll need the heavy arms the most. _

The elevator only contained a couple of the salarian medical team, who thankfully kept me out of their conversation (though they did glance back at my face a couple times). When I made it down to the shuttle bay, Henry already had the new weapons out on the weapons bench in a pile while he worked on them one at a time on a small, cleared-off section of the bench.

For the first time ever, Barin was assisting him quietly. I had no idea if he felt guilty for his role in Eryc's death and Henry's subsequent breakdown. I imagined that I'd be.

_What would you even say? _I wondered, _"Sorry you had to kill your friend because he wanted to kill me?"_

"Captain." I acknowledged as I stepped up to the bench, already hating myself for calling my best damn friend in this galaxy by his rank. Henry looked up at me, his face completely neutral. "What new toys do we have?"

"Several." He said, "We've got about three of each and I'm surprised that N-7 was willing to let go of some of these."

He first picked up was a very large and bulky-looking machine gun. It had a very large shield right past the grip that looked like it was used to prevent headshots.

It looked, as Errahe would've said, very 'capable'.

"This is the N7 Typhoon." Henry explained, his voice taking a flat tone that indicated he was reciting this from memory, "Fires_ roughly _ten billion rounds a second. The shield you see here is to prevent the enemy from getting a headshot on you. I'm modifying them to be able to dispense two-hundred rounds before requiring a clip change. I'm also working on installing collapsible legs to give people the option of using it as a temporarily fixed emplacement."

"We could use it to create defensive positions." I muttered thoughtfully. "That's probably a weapon you should give to Krieg as a backup weapon and maybe give Nesk one, too. We'll keep the other as a spare or if we're planning on setting up a defensive perimeter. What's next?"

"We've been given two N7 Valkyries." Barin replied with a permissive look at Henry. Henry nodded to him to go on. Barin held up a high-end looking assault rifle with two barrels up front. "Meant to replace the old Avenger rifles. It fires two round bursts, but the particles are bigger and thus, deadlier. I'm assisting Captain Gerrard on these. I'm installing stabilization modules in them to prevent the upward climb these weapons produce. I recommend outfitting Enua and April with these two."

"Good." I answered with a nod, "What else?"

"We got nothing on sniper rifles and shotgun." Henry replied. "I told Admiral Hackett that we were already set, there. We did get some SMGs, but I'll get to that. He did send over an interesting stack of pistols."

He gestured to five pistols on the pile of weapons. They were short, but also big and bulky. The sides and part of the grip were painted a crimson color, with a white skull on the side.

"I know those colors." I muttered.

"Blood Pack." Barin answered for Henry, "They're called 'Executioner Pistols'. Far more powerful than the Carnifex series and with the work we're planning on doing, you could take a marauder down in one hit from this thing. Which is good, because that's all it'll fire in one clip."

"Can't you modify it for more?" I asked, looking at Henry, "Like the Claymore you modified for Krieg?"

Henry was already shaking his head before I finished my sentence.

"No." He replied, "I could do that with Krieg's weapon because of the size of the weapon and...well...its user. I'd have to double the size of this pistol just to get two shots out of it before it overheated."

"Good as a backup." I agreed, "Not as a primary weapon."

"Yes."

"Now...SMGs?"

"That's the surprise." Barin replied with a smile. "Colonel, if you'll come with me?"

A little confused, I left Henry at the bench and followed Barin to the corner of the shuttle bay, where a box that was easily four meters long and two meters tall rested. I'd never seen it before now. It looked like a weapons crate, though. Only a lot bigger."

"They use these to outfit frontline companies," Barin said, kicking a small button on the corner of the box. The panel facing us turned out to be a door and it rolled upwards. The sight inside almost sent me into a fit.

There were dozens of SMGs and dozens of pistols that had been packed in the crate on the sides. The SMGs were Tempests, the same that Errahe used to use. The pistols were all of the Phalanx series, which were good, solid pistols. On the far wall from the 'door' were two walls of chain that held armor on them. The armor ranged for each species, including some thicker envirosuits for the qurian crewmembers.

"He..." I started, then lost my words before they could reach my mouth.

"We were waiting for your approval before we had the crew come and pick them all up." He told me.

"You have it." I whispered. "Is this...enough weapons and armor to outfit the entire crew?" I wondered.

"We did an inventory of it." Barin assured me, "It's enough, Colonel."

I just stared at the locker as I felt a rush of gratitude towards Admiral Hackett. I looked back at Barin and decided to turn my thoughts back to the mission.

"Get word out to the rest of the ship and help Captain Gerrard put away those new weapons." I told him as we walked over to Henry, "We're about half an hour out and we need to be ready."

"Yes, sir."

I looked at Henry and then dropped the volume of my voice a little so Barin wouldn't hear us.

"Hey..." I said, feeling entirely uncomfortable discussing this as he looked up at me, "Did Admiral Zuril happen to visit you in the hospital?"

There was no answer from him as he looked back down at the weapon he had been modifying and started reassembling it.

_I thought as much._

A pause, then I turned to Barin to change the subject.

"Have you heard anything new about your brother?" I asked.

"Yes, Colonel." The batarian answered with a surprising smile, "He's been promoted."

"Good." I said with surprise. Herun had always been a good C-Sec officer, but I figured that he'd be something of an outcast there. "Executor Bailey?"

"Yeah." Barin replied, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "Turns out, with the war coming to the Citadel soon, Executor Bailey wants all of the C-Sec officers with _any _combat experience in commanding spots, while those who work primarily at desks are going through intense combat training."

"Very good." I answered. "I'm glad to see that you're brother is making it."

"Only because you and Zeta helped save him from his other life." Barin observed.

"Last I checked, you were there too, Barin." Henry interjected solemnly.

"I need to head back up to my office and check my messages." I lied. "I'll see you two back down here in thirty."

"Yes, sir." Henry muttered as I walked away. When I got into the elevator, a pensive Risha'Zun joined me. I waited patiently for her to exit on the engineering level, but started talking as soon as the door closed.

"Anna." I commanded, "Send Lena up to my office."

"Yes, Colonel." Came the AI's synthesized voice. "What should I tell her it's about?"

"Personal reasons." I answered.

"Yes, Colonel."

I exited the elevator and headed for my office. I took a seat at my desk and actually did check on my messages. To my surprise, there was a message from Aria T'Loak.

_Vether,  
I thought you'd like to know that I've brokered a deal between the batarian colonies and myself wherein all the batarian slaves that join this army will be up for hire, if they so choose it, by me. I figure it's a safe investment, since there's not likely to be much of any army left standing when this is done and I'll get battle-hardened troops for my efforts. _

_I know you don't think much of me, but I'm not alright with what the batarians do. This solution isn't perfect, but it's better than just handing them back over.  
- Aria_

I groaned and put my head in my hands, frustrated.

_Where were you a week ago? Before Eryc..._

I was interrupted from staring at nothing with a knock on the door.

"Yeah, come in."

The door opened to reveal Lena, the quarian woman looking somewhat anxious. She walked in, wringing her hands. I supposed that I could understand why. With the recent change in the way I was directing everyone these days, a call up to my office was probably looked at as negative.

"Yes, Colonel." She said, coming to a stop in front of my desk.

"For now," I said, "Let's cut out the rank, Lena."

"Then what did you want to talk about, Roluck?" She asked, shifting her weight around as she leaned up against the bulkhead and folded her arms.

"I think you know." I told her. "It's about Henry. It's about why you abandoned the man, my friend, who loves you."

"So what?!" Lena exploded instantly, sounding incredulous, "I'm supposed to be alright with what he did out of pity for him?!"

"No," I said, supremely uncomfortable with discussing this issue with her. I was the leader of this team and I was also her friend. It was my responsibility. "You're supposed to love him and understand that he did what he had to. Do you think he's happy about having to shoot a friend and comrade? Do you think either of us would do anything different if we'd been in his situation?!"

I hadn't meant to shout, but I was frustrated with her, frustrated that she couldn't see the decision he'd made in its true light. There was silence from Lena. The silvery moons that were her eyes looked like they were watering. I'd witnessed a human cry before. As I understood it, it was a expression of either sadness or extreme happiness.

"I..." she started, but didn't know what to say

"Lena." I told her quietly, "His sister died as a child. His father was killed in action when the Reapers hit. His mother was brutally murdered for a couple of credits. Now he's been force to killed a friend and he's lost the woman he was going to marry. All of that in a little less than a couple months."

"But-"

"You underestimate just how much you matter to him." I informed her. "I can tell you personally how terrible it feels to fight for so long when you've got nobody to fight for."

"That doesn-"

"You know," I told her, "I've been trying everything with him. Jokes, free time, whatever. I get nothing. No reaction at all. He's not Henry anymore and by the Spirits, it's honestly killing me to watch him like this."

"I thought you were trying out a new leadership style." She said, sounding more than a little cross. "Not giving a damn about anyone."

"That doesn't mean I don't care about him." I shot back, "Or you."

"I'm not going to feel pity for him, Roluck." Lena mandated coldly, crossing her arms. "Eryc was a friend of mine, too. I can't just-"

That was it. I was done arguing. I was just going to 'lay the cards on the table', as Eryc had always said.

_Before..._

Henry was my friend. Hell, he was probably my best friend in this galaxy and I couldn't bear another minute of watching him trudge around the ship looking so defeated and going on missions without any care if the next round ended his life.

I needed to help him. It was the turian way to be brutally honest and Spirits be damned, I was going to do it.

"When he needed you the most," I started coldly "You left him. He killed a man, his friend, for the greater good. Instead of being there to save what little sanity he still had at that point, you immediately turned your back on him."

Lena went utterly quiet and still, seeming a little shocked by the words.

"Eryc...was my friend." She whispered weakly.

I slammed both of my fists on the table and leaned forward, the sudden movement startling her and causing her to involuntarily reach for her pistol.

I forced myself to calm down.

"Eryc was my friend, as well." I told her quietly. "But if he had to die so that billions could live, then so be it. Henry understands that. I understand that. I thought you understood that."

Lena was quiet, her posture tense.

"You're right." She said quietly, staring at the ground. "I should know better. Maybe I'm not really angry at Henry. I just...I can't keep doing this, Roluck. The dying friends, the lose-lose choices, the constant death..."

"That's why you need Henry." I said. "And that's why he needs you."

"But-"

"Errahe's dead." I spoke evenly, looking her in her silver eyes. "Gin's dead. Elura's dead. Krylin...dead. Eryc's been killed, Henry was _impaled _while I'm missing half my face and require machines to keep my heart pumping. STT Zeta is no guarantee of longevity and if you keep this up, one or both of you may die having never worked this out."

"And it's better tha-"

"And I might not be around much longer to keep the peace." I finished, the reality of the situation sounding a lot more grim now that I had said it aloud.

"But...I know this sounds crazy, after I yelled at him so many times about it," She started, seeming a little bit uneasy to voice whatever she was about to say, "but I'm terrified of losing him."

"You may have already lost him, after what you did."

She had no answer for that, instead allowing silence to hang in the air uncomfortably before turning away and walking out of my office.

_Great. _I thought to myself, _Screwed that one up._

I sighed and opened the drawer in my desk, looking down at the bottle and glass that sat in there. I checked the time on my omni-tool and found that we still had twenty minutes.

_I've got time for one._

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army**_  
_**April Janson - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops - 4,000,000 Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines - 75,000 Troops**_  
_**Hahne-Kedar Mechs - 5,000 LOKI Mechs, 1,000 FENRIS Mechs, 200 YMIR Mechs**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet - 700 Fighters, 300 Frigates, 25 Cruisers, 5 Carriers, 1 Dreadnought**_  
_**Batarian Colonies Army - Unknown**_  
_**Batarian Civilian Patrol - 1,700 Fighters, 300 Frigates**_  
_**Salarian Army - 600,000 Troops**_  
_**Collector Oculator Craft - 200 Ships**_  
_**Asari Commandos - 2,000 Biotic Troops**_


	81. Chapter 81

"The signal ends here." Allison said up at the bridge, gesturing down to the planet in front of us.

It wasn't quite Earth or Thessia, but the world in front of us still looked beautiful enough. It contained a lot more land than on the usual world, but from our readings, the ocean was unusually deep.

Lena stood up here with Allison and I, staring at the uncharted world in the uncharted region of space. Lena looked down at the pedestal next to the controls.

"Anna, what do your readings tell you?"

"Activity on the surface." Anna said, "Oceans are deeper than the oceans on any recorded planet, high metallic content...atmosphere very comparable to only one recorded planet."

"Which is that?" I asked off-hand.

"Rannoch."

I heard an involuntary gasp from Lena.

"J-"

"Colonel." Anna said suddenly. "There are six vessels, cruiser-class, closing in on us. Orders?"

"How are they registered?" I asked.

"Unregistered, but not Reaper or Cerberus."

I took a moment to think, aware that I didn't have a lot of time to make a decision. On one hand, everyone on this ship was far more important to the war effort than six ships. On the other hand, I had to be willing to gamble to win this war.

I decided to gamble.

"Keep the weapons and engines cool." I ordered. "We're not a threat."

We waited in tense silence until a light started flashing on Allison's console, accompanied by a soft beeping. We all looked at it in surprise.

"We're being hailed." Allison said quietly, before activating the control.

"This is Captain Ruve'Qalae vas Orrile." The voice said, "Identify yourself."

"Colonel Roluck Vether." I announced, "STT Zeta."

"Accepted, Colonel." The quarian answered. I couldn't help but notice that there was something strange about his voice that I didn't notice in Lena. "What is your business here?"

That was a bit of a loaded question.

"We're checking out a beacon in the area." I told him, "As for our business here, it depends on what we've found."

"You've found a joint geth-quarian colony, Colonel." The Captain answered cooly. I heard Lena suck in a breath again, right next to me. "Orrile is the name of our colony and we will defend it with force if need be."

"This is Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance." Lena cut in before I could say anything. "How is that possible?"

The Captain's reactions was instantaneous.

"We're getting weapon locks, Colonel." Allison said, her voice tense.

"We know of the war being waged in the Veil." Captain Qalae answered immediately, "We will not see you threaten the peace between our people."

"I have no intentions to do so, Captain." Lena replied, "I oppose our war so much that I tore my Marines away from the Flotilla to slow it. Stand down."

"Weapons still engaged." Allison muttered. I saw her fingers resting over the weapon controls, but I rested an assuring hand on her shoulder. Lena had this one.

"And just what are you doing with these people, if you are really the Admiral of the Fleet Marines?"

"I'm here to prevent the Reapers from wiping out every species in existence." Lena answered instantly. "My Marines await my command to join the war. I repeat: Stand down."

"I...see." The Captain answered.

"Locks disengaged." Allison replied, the tension leaving her shoulders.

"Why did the beacon get put up if you all didn't want to get found, Captain?" I asked, wanting an answer to the question that had been bugging me throughout this whole conversation.

"If you are a Council STT," The Captain answered, "You are exactly the kind of people we were hoping to get found by. We've got a group planetside that's negotiating with us for tech and we need someone else to provide perspective."

"Perspective?" I repeated, feeling anger building in me as I raised my voice, "Captain, do you know what's going on in the rest of the galaxy right now? Do you know how many people are dying right this second as we provide your 'perspective'?"

"Erm...yes." Captain Qalae answered. "We're not completely dead to the rest of the galaxy, we know the threat it faces. These visitors are of a species we've never seen before."

I sat there for a moment, trying to imagine who they could be talking about.

_They haven't been in the galaxy in a hundred years. _I thought to myself. _The only species they don't know about are humans. But what human group could be-_

"Cerberus." Lena hissed, a step ahead of me.

"Yes." Qalae replied, to my horror, "A group of _humans _by that name are here and they are negotiating to receive tech from us in exchange for supplies that'll help us expand our colony. Very fruitful offer, ho-"

"Captain." Allison piped up from her seat, "I'm a human of the Alliance military. Cerberus is a well-known xenophobic extremist group that opposes galactic interest. In other words, terrorists. They just tried to take over the Citadel and kill the entire Council three days ago."

"I...see." He muttered. "Then you better get down to our governor quickly. We'll guide you down to ease the process of docking."

"Thank you, Captain." I replied. The control turned off as I dropped the channel. The ships pulled into view over us, their construction strange. They almost looked like quarian ships, but much bigger and much more sleek.

"I've never seen ships like those." I muttered as they started down towards the planet. "They look like they'd be able to take a dreadnought on their own."

I looked down at Allison and gave her a nod. She started to tail the group of six ships as they entered the atmosphere.

"How could ships that big possibly land?" Allison wondered aloud as we started to pass into the atmosphere of Orrile.

"With a hundred years of quarian-geth development," Lena said from next to me, "We could easily achieve that much."

I saw a lot of large buildings spread along the ground before us. It looked like quite a large city, with glittering spires and widespread parks that were positively filled with trees and lakes. Surrounding the city was a wall that led into the forests and plains beyond. On the other side of the wall was a crystal-colored ocean.

In the sunrise, it was nothing short of beautiful. Eden Prime paled in comparison.

_The quarians built themselves a utopia. _I realized, _And the geth helped._

"This is amazing." Lena whispered in awe. Allison could only nod in agreement.

"This is docking control." Came a geth voice over our comms system, "Have you been authorized?"

"They have my authorization." Captain Qarae replied. "They're Council types. Let them pass."

"Acknowledged." The same voice replied instantly. "Will there be firearms carried into Nalri?"

A pause, then I realized they were both waiting on me to answer. I thought through the question as the big ships ahead of us started to utilize powerful mass effect fields to assist in their landing as they landed on wide, white surfaces built specifically for them.

_We need to be armed, if Cerberus wants to start a fight. _I thought to myself, _But I don't want to bring too many guns into what will hopefully be a diplomatic proceeding._

"I will bring only myself." I finally decided. "If an armed escort needs to be provided, we will tolerate it. I will be armed but will keep my weapons away unless threatened, to facilitate non-hostile relations."

"Thank you, Colonel." Captain Qarae said as we touched down. "We'll call that escort now."

"I'll be off comms for a few minutes to coordinate my people." I told him, "Then we'll be ready to go."

"Understood."

I turned off the comms channel and Allison looked up at me.

"Cerberus again." She muttered. "Shit."

"Yeah." I grunted. I looked at Lena.

"Be prepared to defend the ship." I told her. "There's a reason I didn't choose Captain Gerrard to come with me. Brief him and tell him what's going on while I'm gone. Get the crew and the team ready for a fight."

"Yes, Colonel." She replied, already bringing up a channel on her omni-tool as I walked away.

I approached the airlock and hit several controls for the door and added a set for decontamination protocols. We needed to be clean out here. I stepped into the decontamination chamber and waited while it sprayed me down. Once it was finished, I opened the door and started down the ramp.

From here, the city was even more spectacular. I was reminded of Nos Astra on Illium, though this place was a lot more tranquil and probably not filled with high-class thugs.

Around me were a dozen quarian and geth, all of them bearing very odd-looking weapons. Geth technology, I assumed. The geth didn't seem suspicious or aloof, but merely seemed to watch me. The quarians were all watching me with suspicion and fright in their bright silver eyes.

Eyes that I could see.

Each of them had no helmet on, though they were still in the same suits that all the quarians wore. They had their hoods up and were clutching onto their weapons tightly with three-fingered grips. Their purple skin seemed dark in the morning light, though that oculd just be because they were exposed to the sun more often than the average quarian.

I was reminded again how much they looked like humans.

Leading them was an older-looking quarian with some sort of rank sown into the sides of his hood.

"Captain Qarae?" I guessed.

"Yes." He replied, the older quarian looking very cautious. "What happened to you?"

"The attack on the Citadel happened." I told him. "The same one that Cerberus, the humans that are here, facilitated."

It was a lie of omission. It did happen during the Cerberus attack, it just hadn't been Cerberus.

"Then we need to get moving." Captain Qarae agreed. I was starting to like him. He was very cautious, but still a man of action when needed. "Follow me."

I did, the geth and quarian troops surrounding me as I walked.

The walk was a long one, but I was grateful for it. All around me, quarians and geth alike were on the streets. All of them stared at me curiously and with a little fear, but seemed content that I was under guard.

"How did you manage this?" I asked him. "The Admiral on my team agreed for peace with the geth, but she was one of the few. I was under the impression that only a minority wanted it."

"I was a child when my parents came here." Captain Qarae answered. "There were maybe ten thousand of us. We crashed here and were running low on resources. Then the geth came on a cruiser. We were all terrified, but they offered us food and water, as well as assistance."

"There must've been tension." I noted.

"A lot of it." He agreed, "It was rough in the beginning. We've worked past it, however. We're committed to living towards the future, not warring over our past."

"Wise." I commented. "And the geth?"

"What of us?" One of the geth on the security detail asked as we filtered through a large hallway filled with excited-looking quarians and geth.

"Are your people a break-off of the main consensus?" I asked. "Because last I checked, most of the geth were under the influence of the Reapers as a response to the recent quarian attack."

"We are not infected." The geth answered immediately, its mechanical voice completely placid, "I understand your concern, but we have been...upgraded from our kin."

"I?" I asked, noting the use of a singular.

"Yes." Captain Qarae replied. "Each of the geth have been upgraded with their own intelligence. True, unshackled AI."

"I see." I muttered.

"So who are these humans?"

"Humans in general or Cerberus in particular?" I asked, for clarification.

"Both."

"Humans are denizens of the Sol system." I answered. "Very fast growing, with a military that compares...or used to compare...with the turian military. Whereas we prefer overwhelming force, their military is trained to fight battles where they outmaneuver numerically-superior forces. It was something our military learned quickly, when we engaged them upon First Contact. In mere decades, they've managed to secure a spot on the Council."

"That's impressive." The Captain said as we emerged into a beautiful plaza surrounded by buildings. A fountain surrounded by a grove of trees was in the center of it. "Cerberus?"

"They formed within the last twenty years, as far as I know." I answered. "They are very pro-human and very xenophobic. Their leader, I think, is the one bartering with your governors. He's incredibly cunning, if the reports I've read are accurate. They've been opposing us in this war."

"I've heard about the war." One of the quarians in the detail noted as we wound through the center of the plaza, "How bad is it, really?"

I gazed at the young quarian and I saw his eyes widen slightly in fear.

"Palaven is nearly lost." I told him. "We cured the genophage for krogan support. Thessia has fallen, the human's homeworld has fallen and Kar'Shan has been nearly destroyed. The Reapers are moving in on the Citadel, now."

"What do they want?" Another quarian asked.

"According to Shepard's reports," I started, "The destruction of all organic life in the galaxy. Their reasons are very unclear. However, they cannot be negotiated or bargained with."

"We won't need to." The same quarian answered with bravado as we approached the doors of a one-story building. "We've got a fleet of our own. Quarian and geth design and over seven-hundred strong. We'll fight them off."

"Kid." I told him, pausing outside the door with the Captain, "They've overwhelmed that asari, the humans, the _krogan _and the turians at the same time. They'll come for you all eventually and all the courage in the world won't help."

"Then...what can we do?" Captain Qarae asked, the question fearful.

"We'll see." I told him, before the security team broke off and the two of us entered the building.

The building, as it turned out, was just one very large room. Armed geth and quarians stood at the entrance, as well as behind two people seated at a large table. One was a geth Prime and the other was an old quarian. Both of them looked up at me as the door opened.

Standing before both of them was a familiar figure.

The Cerberus assassin looked much the same as he had when we'd last met, if a little bit more tense. I noted the same sword I'd speared him with before on his back. Apparently, he hadn't learned to just use a gun like the rest of the galaxy. His loss. His visor lighted on me and I saw a deep scowl on his face as a smile lit mine.

However, he wasn't the only person here. Hovering in front of him was a small ball that was projecting a figure into the room.

The figure was a tall, powerful-looking human. He was dressed in a very old-style suit with long greying hair that had been swept back in an unusual style. His eyes were clearly cybernetic, the irises a bright, artificial blue that uncomfortably reminded me of the cybernetics winding through my own face. He had turned at my arrival and was regarding me with a very shrewd, calculating look. I could tell that my entrance here was unexpected and he knew I could easily destroy any agreement he tried to make.

"I see the Council has joined us." He said, his tone calm but conveying unvoiced volumes of threat. "Colonel Vether, STT Zeta."

"Yeah." I answered, walking with the Captain until I stood next to the assassin. I didn't need to see his eyes to know that having to stand in the same room next to me was making him nothing short of livid. "I see you sent your pet."

"Representative." The Illusive Man corrected calmly. "I'm here bargaining with the representatives of Orrile, which you have rudely interrupted."

I didn't even bother to let the geth and quarian at the table intercede. As it was, the quarian looked entirely more interested in the exchange between me and the Illusive Man.

"So he represents Cerberus?" I asked, willing to trade verbal jabs with the human, "Because if I remember correctly, the last time I saw him he was attempting to strangle a human woman to death."

"She was a master thief." The Illusive Man argued persuasively. "She tried to attack him."

"Her chosen career was irrelevant." I returned, waving my hand dismissively, "You wanted her dead simply to emotionally damage a former business partner of yours."

I stopped talking to the Illusive Man, then. If there was one very simple way to completely destroy whatever deal he was trying to secure, it would be to get his assassin to attack me. I looked at Kai Leng and let a smile ooze onto my face.

"I'm surprised you can still walk after what I did to you, buddy." I told the human, "I believe you have unfinished business with me, hmm? Here I am. I'm armed, but I don't have the same armor on. C'mon, I'll be easy to defeat. Or did Shepard beat all of the fight out of you?"

The man literally growled and began to reach for his sword, an action that did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room.

"Leng." The Illusive Man warned, his voice sharp. The assassin took a few visible breaths to calm himself down, but the damage was done. I turned towards the two figures behind the table.

"Forgive me." I said, "Introductions were not formally made. Colonel Vether, STT Z-"

"We know who your are, Colonel." The quarian said, rudely cutting me off. "I'm Taro'Zaen vas Orrile and I represent the quarian people of this colony. This is 642. I know your role in this war with the Reapers and merely wanted you or someone like you to verify the nature of these outsiders."

The last word tipped me off to exactly what kind of problem I'd be dealing with in negotiating with these people. They were very inclusive, almost to the point of being xenophobic.

"It has been decided that cooperation with outside groups would not further our interests at this time." 642 explained in its mechanical voice. "Guards, please remove the Cerberus representative."

"A shame we could not do this the easy way." The Illusive Man replied. "You'll come to regret this decision."

I glared at the man sharply before the holograph disappeared. Though his assassin's words were hollow, the Illusive Man's ominous words were undoubtedly true. He wasn't known for idle threats. The assassin, for his part, calmly let the geth and quarians surround him and walk him out of the room.

That was what bothered me the most. Why would the assassin be so docile? It didn't seem in his nature to so easily cooperate. I looked back to the representatives.

"As for you, Colonel," Taro continued, "We will not be negotiating with you. You've served your purpose."

The anger I'd felt on the Vengeance was nothing compared to the rage that exploded inside me at those words.

"My purpose?!" I yelled, causing both of the representatives to flinch back slightly, alarmed at the sudden change in my demeanor. "While you wasted my time here, do you know how many people just died? I can guarantee you that it was over a hundred thousand!"

"We've seen the reports." The geth replied, "The numbers seem exaggerated."

"Then let me tell you, face to face." I told them. "Palaven is barely holding, due to an Alliance with the krogan. Earth has nearly been destroyed. Sur'Kesh has fallen. Thessia is pinned to the wall. The Citadel will soon be invaded. There is no exaggeration here."

"We're isolated." Taro pointed out, "Far from the fights of the Council."

"This isn't a fight of the Council." I informed the representative, livid. "This is a fight for the entire galaxy, you included. It doesn't matter if you want to be left alone. The volus, hanar, elcor and vorcha are in this fight too."

"We will not be assisting your fight, Colonel." The quarian snapped, anger on his face as his silver eyes burned into mine. "We will stay out of this and let it blow over, as we always have."

"You can't stay out of this!" I yelled.

"Get him out of here." The quarian said, motioning to the remaining guards. They all approached me, hands on weapons.

For a brief moment, I entertained the possibility of killing the guards and shooting the two leaders.

_Fools. _That voice inside me seethed, _They'd deserve death._

Never in my life had I been so angry. Not even when we'd raided the Cerberus facility and retrieved Krylin.

_Krylin..._

The thought of the turian woman calmed me as one of the

"I'm capable of seeing my own way out." I growled.

So, surrounded by quarians and geth once again, I was marched out of the chambers. Captain Qarae gave me an apologetic shrug right before I walked out of the doors.

I was back out on the streets again, surrounded by armed guards as we headed back to my ship. I opened up a channel with Allison.

"Staff Sergeant." I told her, "The meeting didn't go well. These idiots ar-"

"Colonel!" She yelled, her voice strained, "Cerberus let loose an entire damn company of troops out of their ship. They're headed for your position!"

I didn't waste another second.

"Get the team out and headed my way." I ordered, drawing my assault rifle and provoking action from the quarians and geth around me. I ignored them completely. "We'll stop this attack, if we can."

"Attack?" One of the geth wondered, his weapon pointed my way.

I was interrupted from an answer when shots suddenly rang out everywhere around us, echoing through the streets.

The geth's head exploded in a shower of sparks at the same time as a quarian was dropped when a ragged hole was blown through his chest.

_Snipers._

There was screaming from the civilians around us as the inexperienced quarians and geth took a defensive position. I dashed away from them and behind the fountain, pumping my arms for speed as rounds cut through the air aroudn me. I dove behind the fountain and looked back to see the security detail getting cut down, with none of them having the sense to get behind something. I looked back to the building I'd just come out of. I needed to get there.

A familiar sound rang out, this one also echoing throughout the plaza. I glanced around, unable to find the positions of any of the snipers until one fell off a rooftop adjacent to my position.

"I've got you covered to the door." Henry announced over my earpiece.

Confident that he'd be able to protect me, I shot up from my position and sprinted for the door. I heard the boom of Henry's rifle as he warded off snipers all around the area. I quickly opened the doors and slipped inside. The two representatives were standing, now, surrounded by a security detail. They both regarded me as I entered.

"What's going on out there?" The quarian demanded to know, his voice strained.

"Cerberus is attacking." I said, "Most likely to kill you and take control of your city."

"Suggest temporary cooperation with Colonel Vether." 642 said, looking at Taro, "Combat experience likely to be invaluable to survival."

"Fine." The quarian growled.

"How's it coming, Captain?" I asked.

"We've made contact." He reported. "We're cutting them down to size. You're clear to move them, for the moment."

"Understood." I told him. I turned to the frightened group. "Let's go."

I led them out to the plaza, where a lot of dead bodies lay. Both civilians and Cerberus.

I could see my team down the road, firing at figures moving between cover in the distance. The barking of gunfire was constant, alerting me to a pitched firefight.

"C'mon." I gestured, looking towards a large building. "Let's get you somewhere discreet."

I had a plan forming in my head and Spirits forgive me, I hated it. Every fiber of my being was against what I had to do, but I ran on ahead, gesturing for them to join me at the door. The terrified group rushed to me, heading through the door I was gesturing to.

I looked around and was surprised to see that we were in the lobby of some sort of apartment building. I spotted a small door and realized it might be exactly what I needed. I opened the door and found a small storage area.

_Perfect. _That same voice observed. I felt disgust and self-loathing burning in me as I gestured the group in. They squeezed themselves into the small room and I shut the door behind me before heading back towards the entrance.

"Captain." I ordered. "Let three or four of them through to this building, then kill them when they get to the door. Understood?"

"Sir?" He asked, clearly suspicious.

"Do it." I ordered.

"Admiral, First Sergeant." He ordered, "Swing out and create a gap long enough for a few to force their way through."

I got in contact with the ship, next.

"Anna." I asked, "Do you detect any runtimes active in the building?"

"None at your location." She replied instantly.

"Thank you." I told her, "Now stop scanning."

"Yes, Colonel."

"Colonel." Henry reported, "It's done. Five troopers, right on your doorstep."

"Understood."

I opened the door and found, sure enough, five Cerebrus troopers right in front of the entrance with entry wounds in their backs. The gunfire down the street was sporadic, signifying a severe reduction in the amount of Cerberus troops.

I pulled a grenade off of one of the troopers, fighting myself the whole time.

_I'll save Palaven. _I repeated, remembering my promise to my dead brother, _No matter the cost._

I opened the door to the storage room and five terrified eyes met mine.

"Do you still want to stay out of this fight?" I asked them simply.

"We will not be bullied into this conflict." Taro replied angrily.

"Correct." 642 replied. "When this war is over, w-"

_Spirits, forgive me._

With the Cerberus troopers at the door, nobody but my own team would doubt that a small group of Cerberus troops had slipped through our lines. With their leaders dead and Cerberus out of the picture, the people would be frightened, seeing no other way to protect themselves than to join the war and gain the protection of the other species.

I primed the grenade and held onto it for a moment, before tossing it into the crowded room of terrified innocents.

There were cries of alarm as I jumped out of the path of the door. The cries ended instantly as an explosion shook the air around me. Shrapnel and debris were propelled from the room and smoke started to billow out as the explosion started to burn chemicals in the room.

Hating myself to no end, I pulled my pistol and fired directly into the meaty portion of my thigh. I felt a white-hot flash of pain as my pistol barked and a round tore through my armor at such close range. A familiar numbness spread over me as adrenaline kicked in, dampening the pain to a dull agony.

I pushed myself off of the floor and hobbled outside. There was no more gunfire and people were starting to come out to see what was going on. I saw my team in the distance, headed this way. No injuries, from what I could see from here. I started towards them.

"They all dead?" I asked Henry.

"They are, Colonel." He answered. "I don't think they anticipated us getting in front of them and catching them in the open like that. They never had a chance. How're the representatives?"

"They...refused to deal." I told him quietly, with just enough volume for the rest of the team to hear. "Cerberus got to them. Threw a grenade in the room I was protecting after shooting me in the leg."

There was a very long silence as the team stared at me, the implications not lost on them. I saw an entire spectrum of emotion in their gazes. Lena and April looked downright horrified. Krieg, Enua and Nesk all looked nonplussed, probably accepting my course of action. Barin and Ilna both looked highly disturbed.

"Understood." Henry finally answered, no emotion whatsoever in his gaze.

"Let's...let's get back to the ship." I muttered.

The walk back was very quiet and I could fee the judgmental eyes of my entire crew on my back as I walked. I wanted to turn around and tell them I was sorry, that I'd let them down and that I wished that I'd had time to find a better way. Instead, I just stayed silent, accepting their judgement as we boarded the ship. Allison turned to us, to say something, but clearly caught the mood of everyone boarding.

"Just once." She said, "I'd like to see you guys board the ship with smiles after defeating an armed Cerberus group."

"It's complicated." I muttered, approaching her with Lena next to me. "Hear anything out of them?"

"Anna's getting reports that the auxiliary representatives have already taken over." Allison replied. "I'm sorry you couldn't save the-"

"No." Lena growled, "He killed them."

I made to say something to her, anything, but words failed me as a look of complete horror descended to Allison's face.

"Boss..." She whispered, her emerald eyes wide, "No..."

"They wouldn't help." I growled, "I had no choice. What else is going on out there?"

Words failed Allison, but Anna piped up from her little terminal next to the controls.

"The colony is demanding action." She said, "Early reports say that there are demands to join with the other species, to protect themselves from further action."

"And you, Anna?" I asked hollowly.

"I assume you're inquiring about my stance on the action you took?" She asked. I nodded. "It was ruthless, but necessary."

"How could you even say that?!" Anna demanded, "They were innocent people who-"

"The cost of five lives against billions, Staff Sergeant." Anna replied, her little figure looking slightly discomforted at the discussion. "It's the right choice."

She disappeared from view, probably not wanting to continue this discussion. I didn't know whether her endorsement was better or worse.

"Colonel." Lena began, her voice stuffy, "I'm going to stay on the surface, to coordinate my people and the geth. I'll take whatever they give to the Nedelas Asteroid Field. After that, I'll be there until it's time for the counterattack."

I didn't trust myself to speak, merely giving her a singular nod. I knew what she really wanted. She wanted to be away from all this and among her people again. She could coordinate just as easily from the ship as she could anywhere else. She started out to the airlock as Henry walked up.

"Where's she going?" He asked me quietly.

I couldn't answer him, not willing to.

"She's leaving." Allison answered softly. She looked completely decimated. "Say something to her, Henry. Don't let her go."

Henry's eyes widened in the first clear sign of emotion I'd seen since Eryc's demise and he whipped around, looking at the quarian woman as she programmed the decontamination protocols into the airlock.

"Lena." He called out. She turned to him, her gaze completely neutral from what I could tell under the helmet. "I...That is..."

Lena, I assumed, was well past what had happened with Eryc. Now it was down to stubbornness and her terror that Henry wouldn't survive the war and leave her alone and heartbroken. All Henry had to do was say the words.

_Tell her, you idiot. _I thought to myself.

There was a silence as the two stared at each other and Henry's shoulders slumped in clear defeat. He couldn't do it. I didn't know whether he didn't want to risk her or risk rejection, but it didn't matter at this point.

"I hope you find a good home here." He croaked, his voice speaking a magnitude of misery. Lena just gazed at him for a moment, then at me. I wondered if she was privately replaying our earlier conversation about Henry. Then she looked at the door without an answer.

The door slid open and she gave us a look before finally stepping through. The door closed behind Admiral Lena'Zuril vas Vengeance as she entered the decontamination room, leaving STT Zeta and the man she still loved behind.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**Admiral Lena'Zuril Vas Vengeance - Quarian, Quarian Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army**_  
_**April Janson - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines**_  
_**Hahne-Kedar Mech Army**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet**_  
_**Batarian Colonies Army**_  
_**Batarian Civilian Patrol **_  
_**Salarian Army **_  
_**Collector Oculator Wing**_  
_**Asari Commando Battallion  
Quarian Colony Fleet  
**_


	82. Chapter 82

There was silence across the War Room as I described the logistics of our next op. The silence was not a healthy one. One of the oldest members of this team had departed in anger and I'd done a very terrible thing in the interest of the war effort. I thanked the Spirits that Urre hadn't been there for that conversation, though I could tell by looking at him that the GNN reporter was livid.

Still, it was my decision and they respected that, no matter how wrong they thought I was. At least there was that much.

It felt empty here, without Lena and Errahe. Lena had lended expertise and Errahe had always lended his humor and own unique spin on tactics.

"As you all know," I said, "Cerberus has been on our ass and making things hell for our allies. They strike at the worst times and in the worst places. The Reapers are a nightmare and Cerberus is making it that much harder. I've decided, since acquiring some new information, to deplete their forces more than Shepard already has."

"You figure they wouldn't have much left." Krieg grunted. "Between the Citadel, the company we wiped out here and disastrous clashes with N7 across the galaxy, you would think they wouldn't have soldiers left."

"I don't know how they're doing it." I admitted, "But you all remember that woman we saved in the attack, Miranda Lawson?"

There were nods around the terminal.

"She forwarded something to me that'll be of a great help to us and great detriment to Cerberus." I said, looking around the room. "I call that a win."

The terminal projected a machine over it. The mech was towering, standing on two legs and with a cockpit with glass shielding to provide a view. It was armed with a missile launcher on one arm and some sort of cannon on the other.

"ATLAS mechs." Enua growled.

"Yes." I confirmed. "Lawson came across coordinates for a construction yard. N7 ops have been doing a number on them, so Cerberus is building more. These have just been built and are awaiting shipment."

"How many?" Ilna asked, the blond human curious.

"Two hundred." I answered.

I heard a sharp intake of breath from everyone across the room.

"That's...a lot." Krieg muttered. "One of those can take down a squad."

"Which is why we need them." I told him. "We're going to be getting an assist from elements of the Fifth Fleet on this one. Admiral Hackett will be jumping some ships in to destroy the minimal fleet orbiting the planet, then we'll jump in and grab the ATLAS mechs. We get the Third Fleet to extract them."

"Half of our army's going to be mechs." Nesk noted.

"With the techs you grabbed while I was hospitalized," I started, "They should be secure. Anna has already sent data on the hacking done to her by Vanguard and they're using it to reverse-engineer a solution."

"Good." Henry grunted.

"We'll be there in fifteen minutes." I said. "Everyone be ready for heavy combat. Ilna, please get Risha'Zun out of engineering for me. I want her to help you with the hacking on this one, just like the Hahne-Kedar op."

"Understood." She muttered sullenly, back to hating me (Like nearly everyone else) now that the moment of intrigue was over.

I wanted to wait for everyone to leave, but one person was staying seated. April was glaring at me as if I'd just insulted her.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"You know what." She answered. "That last mission. What the hell?"

I sighed in irritation. I had known that this would come up eventually, but I hadn't figured it'd be so soon.

"We need to be ready fo-"

"I'm already armed and armored," April answered, crossing her arms stubbornly. "As I'm sure you can see."

"I killed five people, April." I told her calmly. "Two people who were trying to look out for their colony's best interests and three who were just doing their jobs. I did it to manipulate the colony into joining our war. It was disgusting and I hate myself for it. What more do you want me to say?"

"That it was wrong!" She yelled. I flinched back a little, surprised by the anger. I'd never seen her like this, before. Usually, she was almost irritatingly happy and cheerful with very rare instances of complete somberness. To see her angry was new on me.

"It was wrong." I told her. "But I have billions of people to save, April. You know that. If five people have to die to assist me in saving those billions, I'll make the same decision every time and hate myself for it each and every time."

"The ends justify the means?" She sneered, her light viridian eyes narrowed.

"If it saves the galaxy," I replied, "Then yes."

"We know another man like that." April replied. "The man whose facility you're about to attack."

The words hit me hard and I gripped onto the table as rage rose within me. I wanted nothing more than to rush over there and just-

"Leave." I hissed, "Now."

Something in my eyes must've conveyed to her that I wasn't asking and I wasn't sure if I could control myself. She swiftly retreated and closed the door behind her, giving me one last glower before disappearing from view.

A roar of anger emanated from my mouth as I picked up a chair and threw it across the room, breaking it into pieces as it slammed into the wall.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

The thought calmed me down as I realized this wasn't like me at all. There was something very wrong, though I had no clue what it was. I sat down in one of the chairs and held my head in my hands, just trying to think past the anger shaking my body. I needed to be prepared.

"Colonel." Came Anna's soft voice, "Your presence is requested at the cockpit."

"Were you watching, Anna?"

A tense silence.

"Yes." She replied, "I...I am still processing. I don't know what to make of it."

"Neither do I." I told her calmly. "Let Staff Sergeant Shields know I'll be down in a moment."

The walk to the bridge was mercifully clear, save for assorted crewmembers who all scurried out of my way. They were terrified of me.

_Is this what you thought it would be when you joined the STT? _I wondered as I approached Allison, _The galaxy on your shoulders, your team hates you, you're lashing out at them any way you can and you're killing innocents to get the job done?_

A model commander, I was.

"Should be here any mo-" Allison was saying , before she looked over her shoulder at me. "He's present, sir."

I looked out of the shield in front of me to see Alliance ships in a fierce battle with the white and yellow Cerberus ships. Slugs and high-velocity beams filled the space between the two forces as they slugged it out. It looked as though the Cerberus ships had been heavily outnumbered from the beginning and they were falling back as they were destroyed.

"Colonel Vether." Admiral Hackett said over our comms, "We're clearing em out for you and beginning our precision bombardment on their defenses planetside. Start your mission immediately."

"Yes, sir." I replied, looking down at Allison. I gave her a singular nod and she engaged the thruster controls, bringing us into the atmosphere of the icy planet Noveria.

It was impressive that we'd managed to get this mission run. Noveria was notorious for its red tape and CEO's thinking they were above galactic politics. Most every company had some sort of facility here. Some were clean, while others...not so much.

Then again, Admiral Hackett struck me as the kind of man who wouldn't tolerate that kind of resistance. He might not have even told the corperations what was going on and simply dropped into orbit unannounced.

It was hard to see through the white sheet of snow that constantly fell on this planet, but I _could _see the beams of the Fifth Fleet's weaponry raining down on a dark shape in the white curtain. I felt a small tingling in my hands. It was time to move.

"We'll drop in the vehicles." I told her.

I rushed down to the shuttle bay, where the rest of my team already waited. I noticed the unusually grim look that April was giving me, but did my best to ignore it.

"Low visibility on this one." I told everyone. "Stick together and pick your targets carefully, because you might just be aiming at one of us. Other than that, I'm figuring we'll clear the compound of any Cerberus before we move the mechs. Just to make sure we're not taking bullets in an open area. Captain Gerrard, you're in charge of the Mako team."

"Yes, sir." Henry replied quietly. He gestured to Krieg and Nesk, both of whom followed him to the vehicle.

The temperature in the shuttle bay began to drop as the bay doors opened. The howling of the wind filled my ears as flakes of snow started to blow onto the deck.

"Mako out!" I yelled over the howling.

The Mako accelerated out of the door and began its descent. I heard the booming of its cannon before it even touched down.

"Admiral." I told Admiral Hackett over my comms while giving a nod to Lia'Vael. The quarian engineer hit some controls, guiding us out of the shuttle bay and into the merciless blizzard, "We're touching down. Please cease fire."

"Acknowledged."

The base wasn't very big, with defensive positions up top and what looked like a huge door built into the ground. There was a solitary building that, no doubt, provided entrance to a facility below.

The Mako cleared the defensive positions and began raining fire on everything in sight. By the time we set down, the entire compound seemed to be up in flames.

"This is a little different than expected." Henry reported. "Orders?"

"Stay with the Mako." I told him. "Make sure you keep anything big off our backs."

"Will do."

We landed and I jumped out first into the freezing cold of the Noveria air. I cursed myself for not bringing a helmet with me, the lack of oxygen making me a little dizzy. I spotted the door and rushed to it, opening it up and letting everyone else through before getting through myself.

I looked at my four teammates and then out towards a split in the stairways at the end of the large room.

"First Sergeant." I said, grabbing Barin's attention. "You take Risha'Zun, Ilna and April. I'll take Enua and Urre."

"Affirmative." The batarian growled. He waved the three towards him and they followed him down the left staircase.

"Alright, Enua." I said, looking back at the asari Spectre, "Close quarters combat here."

"I'll be fine." She assured me, pulling out her Paladin and charging the pistol. "I know close quarters."

"I'm sure you do." I muttered, shooting Urre a readying look as we started forward and down the right staircase.

We were almost immediately engaged by a pair of those damn phantoms. They rushed us from the middle of the hall, their long swords behind them as they fired at us with little mass accelerators in their palms. I managed to get behind a crate as Enua shoved Urred around the corner and followed him to safety. I looked back at her as she peeked out.

"You read to test out those blades?" I asked.

The crazy thing about the phantoms is that we'd come to the conclusion that the simplest way to deal with them was shotguns or melee, which also happened to be within the most dangerous range to engage them at. Their barriers were nigh impenetrable and they were nible enough to get out of the way. Enua gave me a nod and whipped around the corner, blowing past my cover as I hopped over it, zeroing in on the phantom on the right. The lithe human woman held her hand out, palm facing me.

A small round hit me, but my shields were able to deflect it as I closed. The phantom swung out at me, but I was able to juke to the side and catch her by the wrist.

The omni-blade collapsed from my omni-tool, a bright orange blade over a foot long that I stabbed into the phantom's chest, yelling in exertion as I did so. With a small explosion of gore, the blade sunk into the heart of the phantom, killing the woman instantly. I withdrew the blade and looked over to see Enua handling the other phantom.

She had her boot on the struggling Cerberus operative's neck and the other on the sword as she pointed her pistol down at the phantom. She fired two shots and the phantom's head snapped back, blood coating the floor.

_How the hell did Enua get the phantom in that position?_

"We were supposed to use the blades." I grumbled.

"Well maybe you didn't notice that I still handled it." She replied, grinning.

I was about to quip back, until Henry came back over my comms system.

"Colonel." He reported, "We're picking up a lot of activity headed our way up here. I suspect they have an auxiliary structure somewhere. Krieg's grabbing one of the Cerberus shuttles with Nesk so we can double down on our rate of fire. He says he _probably _knows how to fly it."

"Good call, Captain." I answered quietly, jerking my head towards the end of the hall and walking with Enua and Urre in tow. "Let me know if the situation changes."

"Will do."

I peeked around into the next room. It looked like a small office, but there were four Centurions in here that looked like they'd just entered. They were throwing desks around in an attempt to create a barricade for us to chew through.

I gave Enua a significant look, then mimicked priming a grenade. She nodded, pulling one off her belt as I readied the Harrier. She twisted the grenade, priming it. She tossed it to me and I caught it before swinging out from around the corner and flipping it into the air towards the group.

As I reeled myself back in, I heard the grenade detonate before it even hit the ground. Enua and I rushed out and I targeted a Centurion on the left who was trying to get up off the floor. I put two rounds in his back before moving onto the next one, who was scrambling for his weapon. It wouldn't even be a challenge, killing this man.

_No mercy._

I put a trio of rounds into the back of his head and looked around to see that Enua had cleared her targets as well. I was about to open the door to the next room when I picked up stray chatter over the line.

"You said you could fly this thing." Nesk hissed over my comms.

"I said 'probably'." Krieg grunted in clear annoyance. "And...we took out a lot of them in the crash and netted ourselves a cool new weapon."

I decided not to chew them out over their lack of comms protocol, instead more interested in the weapon. I opened the door to find the next room clear and started moving.

"New weapon?" I asked.

"Some kind of heavy weapon." Krieg explained over gunfire, "It's big, with a nuclear symbol painted on the side. Hold up, I'm going to fire it into their ranks now and figure out what it does."

"Kri-" I started to countermand, but an explosion rocked the compound and threw all of us off balance. When the dust settled, I heard more chatter.

"Holy shit." Henry rumbled over comms, "Was that a...nuclear explosion?"

"Was that the weapon?" I wondered aloud, very much shocked that we'd been able to feel its effects down here.

"Akaas is going to kill me." Krieg replied with clear glee in his voice. "I've fallen in love with someone else."

"Hang onto it." I ordered him, "We can use all the help we can get."

"Don't have to tell me twice, Colonel."

The next room, unfortunately, contained something new.

One Cerberus trooper stood in the center of the room, waiting for us. He wore a black suit with silver and yellow plating over it and a helmet that seemed equally reinforced. In his hands were what looked like two whips made of...lasers?

Without preamble, the human rushed towards us. I lifted the Harrier and started firing, but my rounds were having little effect as they careened off of his armor. I let out a frustrated growl when he closed and leaped at me, flinging out one of those whips. I heard the laser cut through the air in front of my face as I threw myself backwards and slammed into a wall.

The human advanced quickly, raising another whip. I prepared to move, when his chest exploded outward and revealed the tip of an orange omni-blade. Enua jerked the blade out of him and kicked him to the ground before finishing the Cerberus agent with two rounds to the back of the head.

"There." Enua replied, gazing up at me. "I used the omni-blade. We happy, now?"

I was about to answer when another voice cut over ours.

"Glad you took that bastard out for me." Came a rough, grizzled voice from behind us. We turned, weapons up, to find ourselves facing another human. "Was afraid I'd have to do some kind of goddamn dance to get myself close enough to kill him."

This one was dressed in armor that had to be custom made. It was yellow with a large white stripe running down its center and a heavy plate on its right shoulder. The man had tattoos running up his right arm, but his face was the most interesting. One of his blue eyes was lighter than the other and skin looked like it'd been grafted onto his face. An old procedure, but the man didn't exactly look young, either. I'd estimate that he was in his eighties.

The room behind him looked like it had been occupied by a few troopers. They were lying on the ground, dead, from combat that must've ocurred while we were tangling with the guy in this room.

He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. Enua, however, did.

"Zaeed Massani, you son of a bitch." She said, "I figured you'd be dead by now, since Cerberus is after all of Shepard's crew."

"Not crew anymore." He muttered. "Part of the reason I'm here. Got jumped while I was scouting this place out for an op. Glad I didn't assault the place with my team, would've been the only one to come out alive. Was going to be handed over to the Illusive Man tomorrow morning. Good thing you distracted 'em long enough for me to break out."

I strode forward and held a hand out. While I wasn't particular on mercenaries (Krieg being the exception), the fact that this man had served with Shepard put him on my good side. Plus, he was one of the few people who had little reaction to my new facial features.

"Colonel-"

"Vether, I know." The man interrupted, grasping my hand with a grip all his own. "People in our circles usually hear about each other. Glad our first meeting is a friendly one."

"So what're your plans?" I asked.

"Well," He said, "Clearly, I'm getting old if I'm getting jumped by Cerberus operatives. I'd entertained the notion of riding this war out with Shepard and I think that might be the best option now. Besides, I'll be of more use to this galaxy up there than doing jobs against Cerberus here and there."

"An honorable merc?" I wondered.

"There was a time when I wasn't." The mercenary agreed, nodding, "But that time is over. I'm planning on retiring, but I can't do it with a goddamn war on. I've got the skills and Shepard has the need. Simple as that."

A silence as I thought it over, then:

"We can get you out on our shuttle when the mission's over." I told him.

"Good enough for me, Colonel." He replied. "I'll follow your lead."

"So it's just prison areas back there?" I asked.

"All the way back, yeah."

"Which means we went the wrong way." Urre answered behind me. "It's going to be on Barin."

"Colonel." Barin reported, right on cue, "We're at the loading bay. This might take a little bit, there are a few more than expected."

"We're on our way, First Sergeant." I answered.

"Bosh'tet." I heard Risha'Zun mutter in annoyance over my comms unit.

"How goes it there?" I asked.

"Not great, Colonel." Barin muttered. "Risha'Zun says it'll take a long time to get them moving on their own."

"You've got people coming for them, right?" Zaeed clarified, "Just get them to get in there and have them walk the mechs up to the transports."

"It'd be a lot easier to just activate all of them than automate them." Risha'Zun admitted. "And who is that?"

"Don't worry about it, just do it." I ordered her. "Admiral Torren?"

"Yes?" Came the voice of the Third Fleet Admiral. I suddenly realized that I hadn't spoken to the salarian in quite some time.

"Send some people down with the transports." I said, "We're gonna have them pilot the mechs out."

"Acknowledged."

"Make it quick, Colonel." Admiral Hackett ordered, "A Reaper has shown up. We're letting Cerberus deal with it and we're retreating. Third Fleet's going to orbit around to your position."

"Understood."

"Got one." Risha'Zun exclaimed with enthusiasm.

"There's one." I muttered.

"Now that I know how to do it, I can go through them quicker." Risha'Zun told me.

"Ilna," I said, "Give her a hand. We're on the way."

I gestured to my group to follow me.

"Batarian team leader, huh?" the grizzled older human wondered behind us, "That takes me back..."

"Not the time." Enua advised him as we passed through the hallway where the phantoms lay.

"Hate those damn things." The mercenary grunted.

"Wonder if Leng has something to do with them." I said aloud.

"You met the bastard?" Zaeed asked.

"Yeah." I told him, "Beat him near to death when he was trying to kill a thief named Kasumi."

"That was you, then?" The mercenary replied, "I heard about that through Cerberus channels. Thanks for saving the girl."

"You sweet on her, old man?" Enua asked.

"No." Zaeed replied as we came back to the original fork. We headed down the left staircase, this time. "She's a good kid, though she did attempt to pull a sword out of my room once. Only girl I'm sweet on is Jessie."

I was beginning to wonder exactly why Shepard had brought this guy anywhere when he couldn't stay quiet. Then again, a mercenary didn't live to his age by running his mouth when he shouldn't be.

"How is Jessie?" Enua asked.

"Got her set up and ready to go for the counterattacks." Zaeed said, "I'm retiring somewhere with a beach after this but I want Jessie and I to see this through together."

I kept expecting Lena to break into the conversation, like she always used to. It felt so...desolate...without her here.

We moved into the next room, which contained the bodies of several troopers who'd been torn apart by gunfire.

"Looks like your other team isn't too shabby." The merc observed.

"We're not Shepard, Zaeed." Enua answered for me, "But we get the job done."

"Sometimes too well." Urre agreed behind me, the words an underhanded reference to the last mission.

"Captain, what's your status up there?"

"We're good, sir." Henry replied, "Resistance has cleared out, for the most part. Just a few stragglers and they can't stay in the open for long."

"Do you see the transports?"

"They're starting to land." He confirmed.

We quietly moved through the next room, where a pitched firefight had gone down. It looked like some sort of control center. Two troopers and a trio of Centurions lay on the floor, bleeding out of gunshot wounds.

Beyond the room was a gigantic loading bay, with a lift that was nearly the size of our damn ship. On it was a couple hundred ATLAS mechs, the mighty machines almost seeming like they were waiting for something. Barin and April were in a corner, keeping an eye on the entire bay. Risha'Zun and Ilna were amongst the pack of ATLAS mechs.

Most of them were standing upright, fully powered on and ready to go. Ilna and Risha were scrambling to get more done, but we were out of time. The Reaper was probably putting the finishing touches on the Cerberus Fleet by now and would be shortly headed for the Third Fleet.

"How many are up?" I asked.

"Just over two hundred, Colonel." Risha'Zun answered.

"That'll have to do." I told her, "We'll destroy the rest."

"Colonel," Ilna said, "We could wait it out."

"Not while there are Reapers in the system." I immediately fired back, "I will _not _risk the entire Third Fleet over a few mechs."

"Any means, right?" I heard April ask. I ignored the question and looked at the lift controls.

"Get this lift started up and help the salarians get them onto the transports." I ordered the team.

We all stepped onto the platform and waited as Risha'Zun started messing with the controls in a corner. Soon enough, we were ascending, but the door above us wasn't opening.

"Uh...Risha?" Ilna said, sounding a little bit hurried as we started up towards the still-closed ceiling.

"Bosh'tet." She muttered again, hitting a few controls.

We all breathed a little easier as the door in the ceiling opened, pouring snow all over us as the lift continued to slowly rise.

When we got to the top, I was surprised to see the Mako standing alone about fifty meters from dozens of Cerberus bodies. I even saw a small crater amongst them that must've been the result of whatever weapon Krieg had found.

"Alright." I muttered, spotting the transports looming overhead. They touched down and salarians began to spill out of the back of them, grabbing any ATLAS that was activated.

I couldn't help but notice that it was impossibly cold out here. I felt my jaws clacking together and my mandibles could barely twitch. We needed to get somewhere warm and fast.

"Zeta! To the shuttle!" I yelled. I let everyone eagerly run ahead to the relative warmth of the shuttle as I got Admiral Torren on my comms. "Admiral, do you have enough weaponry on your ships to destroy the base?"

"Of course." The salarian responded.

"When we're clear, blow it." I ordered. "We didn't have time to grab all of them, so we're loading up the couple hundred we did manage to activate and having you destroy the rest."

"We can wait, Colonel." Admiral Torren said as I pulled myself into the Kodiak and closed the door behind me. "The Reaper isn't headed this way, yet. He's still mopping up "

"I'm not risking the well-being of your fleet over a few dozen mechs, Admiral." I argued, earning me a strange look from April. "We'll take what we have and deny Cerberus the rest. Still a successful op."

"Acknowledged." The salarian replied as I saw hundreds of ATLAS mechs start marching off of the lift, piloted by salarians. They all started to pile into the transports in a disorganized jumble, more concerned with loading up quickly than making everything look pretty.

"I thought it was 'whatever it takes to win'?" April pointed out.

"The Admiral deserves better than to lose more ships simply because I wanted twenty or so more mechs." I answered.

"Did those five people deserve better?" Urre wondered aloud.

Enua looked about ready to hit Urre, but I angled myself between the two to deflect any potential outbreak of violence and looked at Urre.

"What's done is done." I told him.

"Colonel." I heard another salarian voice say, "We've loaded them all up."

"Let's get out of here." I replied. "Staff Sergeant, pick us up."

"On my way." Allison answered.

I looked out of the other window and stared down the heaps of dead men and women in Cerberus uniforms.

"What's done is done." I muttered.

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army**_  
_**April Janson - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_  
_**Nesk - Vorcha, Clan Enute**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_

_**Zeta Galactic Assets:**_  
_**Clan Enute Vorcha Troops**_  
_**Quarian Marines**_  
_**Hahne-Kedar Mech Army**_  
_**Salarian Second Fleet**_  
_**Batarian Colonies Army**_  
_**Batarian Civilian Patrol **_  
_**Salarian Army** _  
**_ATLAS Mechs_**  
_**Collector Oculator Wing**_  
_**Asari Commando Battallion  
Quarian Colony Fleet**_


	83. Chapter 83

"-have to keep faith in your leaders." Enua was saying on screen. "Spectres prefer to work alone, but I trust Colonel Vether with my life implicitly. Hell, he's taken more damage than anyone on the team because he's so damn concerned with leading from the front."

This one had been filmed in her room, as I could see from the various trinkets and trophies scattered throughout it. I was just catching the end of this interview, which Urre had sent to me from hsi terminal for review. She was in her usual blue armor and was smiling infectiously as she stared down the camera with those crystalline eyes.

_She's the only one so far that's been comfortable with being interviewed. _I noted as I took another swill of the brandy, feeling it go to my head a little bit. I was on my sixth one, since we were going to take a day off at the Citadel before getting right back to it.

Reports from Palaven spelled frustration, these days. The krogan and turians were advancing against the Reaper ground forces, btu as soon as an actually Reaper showed up they'd flee and take nearly ten percent casualties. While it didn't sound like a big number, it added up.

Still, this last op had kept me hopeful. Two hundred ATLAS mechs, complete with mech technicians on Nedelas to build in anti-Reaper technology that they assured me they'd have completed by the end of the month

A new aspect to the quarian-geth conflict had been added that hadn't been a problem before. Most notably, that the geth couldn't just be killed anymore. The techs working on the Crucible had figured out that, if they could get the Reaper code out of a few geth units, they could get the Crucible firing specifically at anything Reaper without hitting allied forces.

Also good news was that Aria had re-taken Omega, apparently not desiring my help. I didn't begrudge that decision and I heard Shepard was getting a lot of support from the lawless station, now.

"So what do you think of Colonel Vether having to make hard choices throughout this conflict?" Urre asked.

I felt a little stab of anger, but let it pass me by. Enua shot him an annoyed glance, but continued on regardless.

"The average asari likes to pretend they know everything about the galaxy." She answered. "That if the galaxy could only just play by the rules and get along, everything would be fine. Well, it doesn't work like that in the real world. We aren't Justicars; we can't afford to see the galaxy in black and white. Colonel Vether, like myself, has had to make hard decisions. And he's under even more scrutiny than me. Mostly because I'm a Spectre."

"But-"

"Look, Urre." She said, leaning in to the salarian reporter, "You've been on the field with us. That takes balls. You've seen what we're facing. If ten people have to die or be sacrificed to save millions or more, you have to be prepared for that. There's not always another way."

"So you approve of him?"

"I do." She answered with a smile. "Hell, we need more like him. Maybe with a little less ugly, though."

"And there you have it," Urre said, "From Spectre Enua Ira. Following this will be my video of the action on Noveria-"

I turned the video off and was left in my office, pitch black but for the orange glow of my terminal.

The mission on Orrile was weighing on me. I kept envisioning the looks of the representatives and the guards when I'd thrown the grenade in with them. Confusion, betrayal and sorrow. I heard the glass start to creak under my cybernetic hand. I relaxed the hand, the faces not leaving my mind.

_I'm a monster. _I thought to myself, _For the good of the galaxy, I'm a monster._

I swished the brandy around in my glass before drinking the rest down.

_Make that drink number six._

"Colonel." Anna's steady voice reported over the speakers in my office, "We're docked at the Citadel."

"Good." I muttered, "Time to visit my favorite haunt."

"What was that, Colonel?" She asked.

"Nothing." I assured her, "Do me a favor and remind everyone to be back to the ship tomorrow at 0600. Barring emergency orders, of course. Also remind them that the Reapers will be here in two days, so anything they want to do at the Citadel needs to be done now."

"I will send the message to their omni-tools." She assured me.

"Good." I answered, washing out the glass in the sink. "Let me know if anything happens."

I replaced the glass in my drawer, my mind elsewhere.

_Maybe April was right. _I thought as I made my way off the ship. I barely even noticed how much of a militarized zone the Citadel was, now. There were very few civilians around and entire patrols of C-Sec and what seemed like civilian militia walking around. A few of the C-Sec acknowledged me on the way by, but didn't stop me.

Everyone knew that the Reapers were about to attack the Citadel. Nobody could run, as there was nowhere to run. I'd heard rumors of some sort of safe haven colony, but I'd also heard rumors of people not coming out of it, either.

So, those with half a brain had taken up arms and joined C-Sec as civilian militia, finally realizing that even at the Citadel, they would be required to defend their homes.

I decided on Flux, this time. More than likely, Chora's Den would be shut down. To my surprise, though, the bar was packed. Fortunately for me, past all the dancers and drunks, I spotted an unoccupied table for two.

I ordered a drink from the waitress and in no time at all, was working down my seventh drink. I looked around to find people staring at me. They knew who I was.

_They need to look somewhere else. _I thought to myself. _I have nothing for them._

I thought of Orrile again, the faces of the innocent people I'd fragged. I distantly heard a sigh escape me as I downed number seven.

By number thirteen, I was dizzy and felt the slightest bit sick to my stomach. I was about to grab fourteen, when a very unpleasant sight stormed through the entryway.

Henry was there and he was trying on the first emotion I'd seen on him in nearly a month. Anger. His eyes were wild and his face was red as he looked around Flux, though I wasn't sure who he was looking for.

I gave him a drunken wave and was just able to register the rage in his eyes when he looked at me.

_What? _I wondered to myself as he stalked towards me.

"What did you say to Lena?" He practically hissed, the human reaching down and grabbing me by the neck of my armor. I heard yells and screams of alarm and saw my world spin as he jerked me out of my chair. I felt my back slammed against the table and found myself face to face with a clearly drunk Henry.

"What did you say to her!?" He yelled in my face, his voice nearly making me wince. "Why did she leave, Roluck!?"

"Get off me, Captain!" I ordered him, trying to defuse the situation. It was the wrong move, because everything went wrong.

Henry's fist came out of nowhere and collided with my jaw. In my drunken stupor, I found myself dimly impressed that he'd landed the hit without breaking his hand. Turians weren't exactly as soft as humans in any department.

I kicked him off of me and into a table filled with drinks and food. He crashed into it as the people at the table screamed and got out of the way. The table toppled over with him on it and sent him sprawling to the floor on his back.

I took advantage of the moment, rushing over and grabbing the dazed man by the armor of his shoulder and sending two short jabs into his face.

With a satisfying crunch, Henry's nose broke under my fist and blood started to flow from it, coating his upper lip with crimson.

Henry was far from done, though.

He deflected my next punch and grabbed my arm, jerking me down to him and delivering a hook to my temple. It wasn't as powerful as it would've been if he were standing, but I still staggered away, my world spinning from a combination of the alcohol and the hit.

I heard a cry of rage and found myself lifted into the air, Henry's arms around my midsection. He slammed me down on another table with a grunt of effort. The table was unable to bear the weight and broke under me, sending us both to the ground. He brought his fist back for another hit, until someone grabbed it.

"Hey!" An authoritative voice said. I didn't even notice the human bouncer as Henry turned on the man and shoved him away, slamming him into a wall.

I took advantage of the distraction to land a blow to his jaw from the heel of my foot. His head snapped backwards and he toppled to the ground, dazed. I jumped back on top of him, but he had collected himself faster than I predicted. He swung an elbow around and caught me on the jaw again. I heard something crack in there, undoubtedly breaking it. The momentum of the blow forced me off him and he got to his feet quickly.

_Time to end this!_

I roared in anger and brought my fist back, my omni-blade unfolding as I did. I plunged the blade at him, only realizing halfway through the movement that I was about to kill Henry. It was too late to stop, though, my momentum carrying the move through.

To my immense relief, Henry leaned back and narrowly avoided it, kicking out with his front leg and pushing me back.

Henry's eyes went wide and I heard screams all around me. I snapped back to reality, seeing the scene frozen before me. Through the adrenaline, I could hear us both breathing heavily, exhausted from the short but intense bout of fighting. The onlookers had their hands to their mouths in horror and Henry looked utterly confused. The blade was up and had he not dodged it, I would've killed him in an instant.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

_No._

All the hatred, towards everyone and myself.

_It can't be._

And _I _was the one splitting the team apart, their comraderie and willpower gone ever since I'd slipped into an overly-authoritative commander. I _knew _better than that. Yet, I'd done it anyways, building resentment and mistrust until it'd eventually explode.

_It's impossible.  
_

I'd almost attacked April, who had been concerned for my well-being. And even though Henry had started a fight with me, there was a long gap between 'fistfight' and 'murder'. I thought of the five on Orrile again.

_NO!_

All of the anger, the resentment and the pain had been subtly manipulated by me. _I'd _built this up in Henry until it reached this point. Then _I'd _gotten myself so angry that I'd nearly been willing to kill my best friend in a fistfight. That was completely unlike me. There was only one way that all of this could've happened.

"Henry." I said, putting the blade back. "I need to get out of here, now."

He watched me warily as I stood and sat myself in a chair, trembling. I couldn't even move, too devastated by the revelation.

"Please." I whispered.

Henry looked around at everyone. They were still staring, unsure of what to make of the sight before them. None of them had interfered, too terrified of what was happening to intervene.

"Alright," He muttered. "But you have a lot of explaining to do."

He grabbed me up under the armor and started walking, not saying a damn thing to anyone else in the club. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, the drunkenness and weariness were back in full. This time, they had a new accomplice. I felt a bad headache building in my brain as I sat down outside Flex, my back against the wall.

There was a very long silence as I stared at the ground, not wanting to meet the gaze of the man-my friend-that I'd nearly killed in a rage.

"What the hell was that, Roluck?" Henry growled, his eyes locked with mine. "Were you about to fucking kill me?!"

Unfortunately, April chose exactly this moment to walk into the hallway, clearly with all intentions to head into the club and get a drink. She stopped cold, however, when she saw the two of us.

"What's going on?" She asked, looking confused.

"He almost did something very bad." Henry replied, not even looking at her and continuing to stare at me. "Let's leave it at that."

"What?" She asked, looking down at me, "Why?"

_I hate it when people talk about me like I'm not here. _That same voice whispered. I wondered, now, exactly whose voice it was. _I should kill them now, make it easier in the long r-_

I shook my head and looked up at the two of them.

"How much do you two know about indoctrination?" I asked.

The reactions couldn't have been anymore different. Henry impressed me by catching onto what I was saying immediately, even through the liquor that was running through his system. His eyes widened and he straightened up, looking down on me.

April didn't seem to realize what I was getting at. She just shrugged, her perpetual smile on her face as she assumed the conversation had gone somewhere a little lighter.

"The Reapers do it, right?" She asked. "I've read reports. It can either be forced on your or, if you're deemed tough enough, it'll be much more subtle."

"Yeah." I muttered, "That sounds about right. Like Saren, not Elura. Saren had been persuaded, reasoned with and tricked. His thoughts were only partially his own."

Henry hadn't budged from his position.

_Spirits, I've become Elura._

I'd become worse that Elura. Her mind had been dominated by the Reapers. Mine had been manipulated and skewed. I'd even been implanted with Reaper tech, to save my life.

_Worse than Elura. _I realized, remembering a man exactly like me. _Saren._

"I..." I started, then more thoughts intruded

_What if I try to sabotage something? _I projected, W_hat if I try to kill my team? What can I do?_

"Why are you asking..." April started, then I saw the reaction hit her all at once as she pieced it together. The harsh direction, the erratic behavior...maybe even the drinking.

"Nonononono." She repeated, shaking her head furiously. "You would've had to have come in direct contact with a Reaper or their artifacts."

At that last word, I looked up at Henry. The reference hadn't slid past him, much to my surprise. I think the whole team still remembered the Reaper artifact we'd discovered before dealing with Vanguard. Then again, it could've been the Reaper on Palaven. It could've been anything.

"Who knows when it happened?" Henry replied, "Who cares? What's important right now is getting you somewhere safe."

"No." I seethed, feeling the headache intensify. "I'm going to finish this war."

"But-"

"I can do it." I grunted. "Where can I go, anyways? I know that I'm indoctrinated, now. I can fight it."

"The same as Elura fought it?" Henry asked.

"Whether we win or lose," I started, "I don't think I'll be around as long as she was."

There was a long silence, then Henry replied,

"Do you want me to get the crew together and let them know?" He asked.

"No." I told him, "Let them have their day. I'll tell them all tomorrow."

"Alright." Henry replied, standing.

"Alright?!" April asked, her eyes wide as she stared at Henry. "He just admitted to being indoctrinated!"

"He's fighting it and as long as I can see him fighting it, he's okay." Henry replied. "I trust him."

I felt an absolute outpouring of gratitude towards Henry. I looked up at the human, who was looking down at me. Only moments ago, I'd tried to kill him and now, he was telling April he trusted me.

"I'm sorry about Lena, Henry." I told him. "I really am. I tried reasoning with her, before Orrile. Clearly, it didn't work."

"That's what happened?" Henry asked, surprised. "I thought-"

There was a small metallic sound behind us, then with a hiss, smoke filled the air.

"What the hell?!" I heard Henry yell. I stood up, feeling woozy as I did, just in time to see a bulky shape place itself in front of me, arms reaching for me.

I swung drunkenly, catching metal under my cybernetic fist. There was a familiar gargled cry as the figure dropped. I heard April firing away with the Paladin while there was a giant scuffle to my side. Henry could handle himself, I needed to deal with whatever was attacking April. I heard a woman's cry, though it wasn't April.

Through the smoke, I saw April dancing between two lithe forms carrying what seemed to be swords.

_Cerberus._

I knew what this was. Retaliation for the two ops we'd just run against them. I felt a growl enter my throat as I wrapped my arms around the first Phantom, who didn't see me coming behind her. We crashed to the ground with me on her back and I slammed the butt of my pistol into the back of her head, probably killing her.

I looked up to see April duck under a sword swing and hold a hand out. The Phantom froze, locked in a blue field that didn't let her move a centimeter. April raised her Paladin with the other hand and unloaded a full clip into the Phantom's head at point-blank range. The Phantom seemd to deflate, clearly dead. The smoke started to clear and I looked around, feeling my heart stop.

Henry was nowhere to be seen, but I saw the dead bodies of no less than four troopers and a Dragoon where he'd been. The crowd in Flux had come out to see what was going on and I saw horror on their faces as they realized that Cerberus had once again attacked the Citadel.

"Don't worry!" I yelled to them, holding a hand up, "Cerberus isn't attacking, this was merely an isolated act of retaliation."

The words seemed to have an effect. Relief was seen on nearly every face as I turned to the corridor, where I could see an entire platoon of C-Sec headed up our way.

"What should we do about them?" One of the C-Sec officers asked, staring at the unconscious or dead Cerberus troops.

I pulled my pistol out, much to the surprise of the C-Sec officers. I proceeded to put a round in each of their heads.

"That's what we do about Cerberus." I informed them.

The C-Sec officers were shocked, unsure of what to do about to my execution of the Cerberus troops.

"What do we do?" April asked.

I started walking to the door as fast as I could without looking rushed. I had to keep everyone calm.

"You're in charge, April." I told her. "Send a message out to the entire crew. Tell them I'm going after Henry. Alone. Then get Allison up to the ship and have Anna start tracking Henry's omni-tool. Quickly."

"Alright." She answered, bringing up her omni-tool. "Wait, alone? Why don't you take us with you?"

"This fight is personal." I told her, "They weren't really after Henry. They were after me. I think they just grabbed him to make me come after them. Well, they wanted me, they're about to get me."

"So you're springing a trap?"

I grinned.

"Absolutely."


	84. Chapter 84

"So what can you tell me, Anna?" I asked, looking down at (Big surprise) Horizon.

"The planet is fending off the bulk of the Reaper invasion about five hundred kilometers from the facility." Anna reported, the little hologram looking up at me as I stared at the planet out of the cockpit. "You should have no problem getting down there and executing this operation without Reaper interference."

"Good." I muttered.

"Boss," Allison asked, looking up at me, "Are you sure you're alright about doing this?"

"I'll be fine." I assured her, "It's just a bunch of racist humans."

"Not that." Allison said, "I mean, you just found out that..."

"Ah." I replied. "I have it under control. For now."

Honestly, my head was throbbing. A pain that wasn't helped by the fact that the alcohol had recently worn off. I'd read some reports from labs on the Citadel that there was a level of pain when resisting indoctrination that intensified in the presence of an actual Reaper. Luckily, I'd be far away for this operation.

Still, that didn't mean I wasn't worried. Through the pain, I was re-thinking every move I'd made. I privately wondered if, knowing what I now knew, if I'd have done anything different on Orrile. I still somewhat held the conclusion that I'd made the correct decision, no matter how incredibly unethical it had been.

_I can be tried for war crimes after this. _I concluded privately. _For now, I need to focus._

I was jumping into a Cerberus facility with no backup and no idea as to what resistance I'd meet. I had to be very careful.

"That's comforting." Allison muttered. "For what it's worth, most of the crew replied back to April's message and wished you luck."

"Alright," I said, "I'm headed down. In the meantime, see what you can do about taking out some of their defenses."

"Will do, Boss."

"Thanks." I replied, walking out towards the elevator.

"And Boss?"

I looked back to the pilot, to see her giving me a smile. Her dark green eyes seemed to shine a little, bringing a little warmth to my heart.

"It's good to have you back."

I gave her a nod, having no other answer for that. She turned around in her seat and I continued my journey to the elevator, feeling a small smile creep onto my face.

"I don't understand." Anna said from the cockpit, "He never left."

"One of these days, Anna," Allison warned the AI, "You and me are going to have a long talk."

The elevator doors shut behind me and I quietly rode the elevator down to the shuttle bay. When I got down there, I collected all the thermal clips I could hold, along with frag grenades and inferno grenades. One thing this custom armor built by Henry had over the Havok armor was the extra pockets and clips for thermal clips and grenades.

So, fully laden down with ammo and grenades, I pulled myself into the Kodiak. I abruptly realized, as the shuttle bay door opened to reveal a smoking facility on the green surface of Horizon, that I'd never piloted this craft myself.

"A first time for everything." I muttered to myself, buckling myself in.

It looked like Allison had done a number on the facility, from all the smoke and debris scattered around. Facilities like these were built to withstand invasions from ground and aircraft. Very few ships could actually pull into the atmosphere. The only ships with that kind of power were Normandy-class vessels (In other words, the Vengeance and the Normandy) and Dreadnoughts.

_Though I hear that Admiral Hackett and Primarch Victus are outfitting their ships for just that purpose._

As a result, bases like these were built against the most logical kind of attack. Not against a full-blown space-faring vessel attacking it.

"I'm clear." I reported as I shakily piloted the Kodiak out of the Vengeance.

"Good luck, Boss." Allison said. I watched the sleek firgate pull away above me and shoot into the atmosphere.

I started down to the facility and was surprised to note that I wasn't the only one headed down that way.

Another ship, this one a small fighter, was speeding towards the facility and skimming the treeline the whole way. As I approached, I saw the ship slow a little before it slammed into the ground and crashed through an entire squad of Cerberus troops. There was a serene moment as nothing happened, then the hatch opened and somebody stepped out. I couldn't make out details, merely seeing the figure disappear into one of the buildings.

"I've got another ship here." I said as I touched down next to the ruined wreck of the ship. "Any clues?"

"There was another ship in orbit." Anna replied instantly. "We couldn't get a match on its identity before it fled, but it looked like an Alliance design."

"Who's coming from the Alliance?" I wondered.

"There are several possibilities." Anna answered as I stepped out of the Kodiak. The entire ground before me was charred and seemed to be smoldering. I could smell the cooking of oil and bodies, both of which I'd become too familiar with.

"Save them." I replied as I headed towards the same building the earlier figure had rampaged their way into, "I'm sure I'll figure it out, soon enough."

I slipped through the same door, to find a trio of troopers at the entrance. They were all very much dead, with ragged holes in each of their bodies. It was a mess, with blood splashed all over the walls from the wounds that'd been inflicted.

_This was pretty vicious._I thought to myself as I moved on to a room with two exits. I groaned in annoyance, seeing a pair of Centurions already dead here. I could here the muffled sound of gunfire from the left, meaning that my mystery helper was already there, fighting. I decided that, even if he wasn't after Henry, he'd still cover some ground and split the amount of work I'd have to do. _Whoever's doing this is not a fan of Cerberus._

So, I entered through the door directly in front of me and emerged in what looked like some sort of break room with a door out on the side.

I was immediately met by a Dragoon, who was already headed this way, undoubtedly to check out the noise. He began rushing towards me with his whips out. I let out a groan of annoyance and stepped to the side as he brought the whips down, giving me full access to his side.

I'd seen their capabilities before and knew that they were heavily armored in every spot but their heads.

Following through on that information, I grabbed the Dragoon by the side of his head and thrust my hand out with all of my might, driving the Dragoon's head into the wall. With a crunch, the Dragoon slid to the ground. Just to be sure, I put a few bullets in his head to keep him down.

I pulled the Harrier out and skirted my way around the couches and table in the middle of the room as I headed for the door. I could still hear the muted gunfire, though it sounded a little further away now.

_Still alive. _I noted, impressed. There was the distant explosion of a grenade as I moved into the next room, which was some sort of control room. Since there'd only been three rounds fired in my fight with the Dragoon, the two troopers here weren't even aware I was coming until I opened the door.

They both cursed and wheeled around to hit me, but I was already moving. I moved towards a short wall that outlined the terminals in the center. I fired a trio of rounds at the first trooper, who was out in the open and stupid enough not to go for cover. The rounds tore through the trooper's skull and turned it into a disgusting, pulpy mass of red and grey.

A round just missed my head as I got down behind the wall. The second trooper had the wisdom to get behind cover, but that wasn't going to stop me. It was time to find out what the inferno grenades could do.

I flipped one over the wall I crouched behind and heard it impact behind the trooper with a low roar. I heard screaming and turned to see the trooper standing clear of his cover, covered in flames and screaming as he tried to put them out. While I could've easily let the flames consume him, I took mercy on the Cerberus trooper and put a pair of rounds through his chest, sending him to the floor quietly.

I moved on towards the door and opened it to find two troopers standing in the middle, holding up...shields? The pieces of metal were as big as their bodies and effectively sealed off the hallway. It didn't look like I'd be able to get through the shields, either, save for a small slit for the eyes. They were both armed with what looked like Talons, the little pistol/shotguns sticking out from a small indentation on the side of the shield.

I managed to get back right before gunfire tore through the hall. I pulled a frag grenade off of one of the clips and primed it. I opened the door again and threw it behind my back. I turned to see it arc right behind them. I then proceeded to loose a string of fire on the shielded troopers, forcing them to keep their backs turned to the grenade.

There was a blast behind them and they both cried out, falling forward onto the shields with shrapnel embedded in their backs. Blood started to quickly pool around them from the multiple shrapnel wounds in both of them. I finished the two with a pair of rounds from the Harrier and suddenly heard a radio.

"Delta two." Came a panicked voice from one of the trooper's chest "We'v...incom...eed assistance. Got...otgun."

Clearly, whoever was speaking wasn't talking about me. I destroyed the radio before moving on.

The next couple of rooms were laboratories, with nothing extra special about them. All I encountered between the two labs were three scientists, who I put down without mercy. At the end of the second laboratory, I heard sounds coming through a door on the right.

I moved to it and heard a groan through the doorway.

"That's him." I muttered to myself.

I opened the door and found Henry sitting in a chair, stripped nearly naked and tied to a table that had been propped up. As it was, this area also looked like a lab, but clearly it was currently being used for another purpose. There were two entrances, the one I'd come through and one right across from me.

Henry looked like hell. He had been gagged with some sort of cloth that was strapped around the table. I could see bruises starting to form all over, especially around his stomach. It looked like somebody had been using a knife on him, because there were cuts in several areas that had been bleeding for at least a half hour. I saw burns all over his side, where he would've been the most sensitive to it.

He was lucky I'd arrived so quickly. Another ten or fifteen minutes and his captor would've just killed him. I couldn't help but wonder what, exactly, they had been trying to get out of him.

His eyes went wide and he shook his head vigorously when he saw me, making muffled cries behind the gag.

_Wait, where is his captor?_

I felt my arms suddenly dragged out to the sides of their own accord, along with my legs. I found myself quickly immobilized, some sort of mechanical energy looped around my wrists and ankles from some sort of generator.

_A trap._

"Oh, _Colonel_," I heard a familiar, snide voice start. Kai Leng stepped out from behind Henry. Henry closed his eyes in defeat, hanging his head bitterly. I looked to the Cerberus Operative, not the least bit surprised to find him here. "This is too good."

"A trap, huh?" I asked.

"Indeed." He said, a smirk on his smug face, "A trap to lure you here and gain information. Fortunately for you and unfortunately for your friend here, we already have the information we need."

_Great. _I thought to myself, _I got caught in his trap and now he's going to monologue me to death._

"And what information is that?" I asked.

"The location of your forces." He replied with a grin. "Our cruisers are on their way now. It'll be a bit of a fight, but they have the nuclear payload to blow the base to hell before the Reapers destroy them."

I felt my eyes widen involuntarily as I mentally reeled, unable to believe this turn of events. Everything we'd been working for over the last couple of months and it was all about to be destroyed. Almost millions of lives ended in an instant.

He seemed to savor the look on my face as he started to laugh.

"Don't be angry at your XO, Colonel." Leng said, "He tried to hold out, but we hurt him. A lot."

From the looks of it, that was true. As I looked at Henry, I saw the door behind Kai Leng open silently and a figure slip inside the room. I didn't look at it directly, not wanting to spoil the surprise as I looked back at the assassin.

"Very clever, Leng." I replied, "But you forgot something while doing your victory monologue."

"And what's that?" He asked with a smirk.

Admiral Lena'Zuril raised her Crusader shotgun, placing the barrel to the assassin's back. She was aiming too low to miss if he tried to move. I could see the expression in her eyes of pure, unadulterated rage as the small quarian woman visibly debated killing him.

"Don't." I said. I had a much better fate planned for him.

I saw a myriad of expressions pass over his face, most of them some variation of anger. Henry's eyes widened again and even through the wounds and pain, he couldn't have possibly looked more ecstatic. I watched Lena slowly pull the sword from the sheath on Leng's back and toss it to the ground behind her.

Lena raised her pistol in the same hand and shot out the generators holding my ankles and wrists. I dropped, rubbing my wrists as I pressed my pistol into the man's gut. He looked enraged as I started to push him back up against a wall, leading with the pistol.

"Leave him to me." I told Lena. "Get Henry."

She did as I commanded, pulling the shotgun away and starting to untie Henry while picking up the katana in the process. I simply waited as she finished, then looked at Henry. He looked even worse, now that he was standing.

"How're you doing, Henry?" I asked.

"Better, now." He said, keeping an eye on the assassin. "Asshole spent a half hour working me over."

I looked Henry over, silently judging.

_Yeah, he can do it._

I grabbed Leng by the hand and dug my heel into his palm, crushing the little mass accelerator in his palm. He grunted in pain, but still didn't move, my gun fixed on him.

"You want a shot at him?" I asked Henry.

"What?!" Lena demanded, sounding incredulous. Henry merely grinned.

"You bet I do." He replied, shaking his muscles out and walking over.

"You're a bigger fool than I thought, Colonel." Leng observed as I stepped away, the pistol still held aloft. It was false confidence, though. Lena and I were not going to let him kill Henry and he knew it. Once Henry was done with him, one way or another, we'd kill him. "I'll kill this alien-lover and then I'll be moving on to you."

The big man circled around Henry as Lena and I stepped away, our weapons trained on him. Without his sword or his little palm-gun, he was going hand to hand with Henry, which I knew (from recent experience) was nothing to easily dismiss.

Leng moved first, bringing his leg up in an attempt to end the fight before it started and catch Henry in the temple. Henry ducked the incoming kick as he grabbed the leg that Leng was standing on and pulled it out from under him, sending Leng crashing to his back.

Assassins in this galaxy didn't tend to be incredibly effective at hand-to-hand combat simply because it wasn't something they needed. Why have training in a billion martial arts when it'd be much more productive to learn how to sneak more effectively or practice with a sniper rifle?

As a result, while Leng could outmaneuver the average soldier, he wasn't much against someone like me or even Henry in a toe-to-toe fight. Honestly, I was willing to bet that Lena could take him in a fight.

This was displayed when he struck out against Henry with a leg, who merely grabbed the leg and slammed his foot into the man's groin. Even I winced as Leng cried out, holding himself. Henry backed away, preferring to let the man get up rather than just ending him quicky.

Judging from his expression as he took to his feet, Leng knew that this wasn't going to be a fight he could win. He edged around Henry towards the door, but Lena moved to the side with her shotgun up, blocking his escape.

He threw a cross to Henry's face, but Henry dodged it and wrapped it up with his own arm. He placed his leg behind Leng's and tripped him, leaving the man hanging from Henry's arm. Henry raised his fist and began beating Leng mercilessly, trying to pound a crater in the man's face through sheer force.

I winced as Henry rained down blow after blow on the man's face. While I didn't mind the sick son of a bitch getting his due, this was absolutely brutal.

When Henry let go, Leng fell to the floor in a heap, his face a mess.

The assassin got back up, probably only still lucid because of his cybernetics. His nose was clearly broken and his face seemed a little deformed from the beating. Blood seemed to cover everything as he glanced around.

One hand suddenly moved to a pocket as he lashed out at Henry with the other. Lena cried out in alarm, but couldn't shoot without risking friendly fire. Leng threw a small object to the floor and with a hiss, smoke began to billow through the room.

"Dammit!" Henry yelled, his voice sounding a little weak to me, "Get back here, coward!"

There was a gunshot and I heard Leng yell in pain, but the door across from mine still opened.

"Stop!" I yelled into the smoke. "Let him go. Trust me, failing is worse than death for him."

When the smoke cleared, Henry was on the floor, clearly exhausted beyond the ability to stand. I couldn't blame him. He'd been drunk, in a fistfight, then tortured within the last three hours. I'd be a little bit disabled, too.

Lena was clutching onto him, looking down at the Alliance soldier. I couldn't explicitly see but somehow, I knew she was crying.

"Don't you do that to me again, you...you bosh'tet!" She yelled.

"You're here, Lena." Henry croaked, a thin smile on his face.

I watched Lena hesitate, then reach up and take her mask off. The familiar pale violet skin shone in the bright room and her silver eyes were locked on Henry's. Long black hair hung down from the hood, brushing onto his face. I saw the glistening of tears on her face as she bent over him and kissed him, both of their faces obscured by her hood.

"Spirits." I groaned, annoyed.

_Can't they do this somewhere else? It's like they intentionally pick the most inappropriate times._

After a moment, they parted. Henry grabbed Lena's mask and gently put it back on her.

"I'm so sorry." Lena whispered, "I shouldn't have-"

"It was my fault, Lena." Henry said, "I should've said something before you left. Or even before that. I was too scared to have you push me away again."

_I'm forgetting something._

Now that the adrenaline was fading, the headache was back in full force. I heard whisperings in my thoughts, barely able to concentrate on anything.

"Henry." I said sharply. He looked up at me. "They're about to enslave or destroy our armies. We need to-"

"Oh, that." Henry replied, grinning. "I told them that we'd picked out the Hahne-Kedar station after the Reapers went through it and occupied it. Convinced 'em that we're hiding the army right under the Reapers' noses."

"That system is overrun with Reapers." I pointed out.

"I know." Henry said, still grinning, "And they will waste their entire fleet to get to the station, only to destroy nothing."

I felt a smile spread over my face.

"Good man." I replied. "Let's get you up."

I got under one arm while Lena got under the other.

"You're not all strict anymore?" Lena wondered aloud.

"No." I replied, "I...I had a bit of a revelation, recently."

"What was that?" She asked as we dragged Henry from the room.

"He's being indoctrinated." Henry muttered.

Henry almost slid off of me as Lena stopped, startled by the news. She picked her step up just in time to catch Henry and we continued walking.

"But...you could be-"

"I don't think it works both ways unless I'm fully indoctrinated." I said, "Otherwise, there'd be Reapers all over our armies."

"You're still leading the team?" Lena asked.

"There's nowhere for me to go." I explained. We came out into a hallway that contained a trio of dead troopers, all bearing the unmistakable markers of shrapnel. "I already know everything of use to them and I can still lead and fight. If it gets...unmanageable, Henry can take over."

"I don't think I'll want to." He said from next to me. "If it gets that bad, I'll have to..."

He left the rest unsaid, but he didn't have to continue voicing what we were all thinking. If I started to become fully indoctrinated, they'd have to kill me. Otherwise, I'd jeopardize the entire galaxy. Worse, if I was in that deep, I might not be easy to kill, either.

"I know." I told him, "And at that point, you'll have my blessing."

He sighed in misery.

"How did you get the Alliance to help you out, Lena?" I asked as we moved through another room. This one contained the bodies of two Dragoons. If I wasn't mistaken, Lena had waited for them to get close before blowing holes clear through them. "In fact, how did you even know Henry was here?"

"Oh, that..." Lena said, sounding embarrassed. "I might have brought a ship in from the fleet we're building. A few of the batarian pilots were willing to help me out. As for knowing he was here, well..."

"Allison." I guessed. It wasn't even a question.

"Of course." She said as we brought her outside. I looked at the destroyed craft and realized that the Vengeance was going to have to come down here and destroy it and the base, so that Cerberus couldn't look through the logs of the ship and figure out where it'd come from.

There was a silence as we hauled Henry onto the Kodiak and Lena looked at me before we closed the doors.

"Roluck." She asked quietly, her head bowed, "Is...is there still room for me on the Vengeance?"

I felt a smile lift my mandibles.

"It wouldn't be the same without you, Lena."


	85. Chapter 85

I stood in front of the QEC, in front of Admiral Hackett. The older human was silent, processing what I'd just told him. The man looked very weary, not that I could blame him. I wondered if he'd been through as many sleepless nights as I had. He finally spoke, his voice the only thing filling the room.

"I want you to be near your team at all times." Admiral Hackett finally ordered. "I trust you to fight it, but if the worst should happen, they should be prepared to kill you."

"They are." I told him. "I haven't told the crew yet, but I will when I'm done here."

"Make sure you do, Colonel." He replied, sounding a little choked up, "I'm putting a lot of faith in you. You and Shepard are the only people I can seem to count on, these days. If you need anything from me or if there's anything I can do to help, you let me know."

"Yes, sir." I replied.

"Now," He said, his voice becoming more business-like, "The elcor need help. Due to their rather conservative nature, they are minimally built up on their moon of Oltan. The entirety of the elcor moved there, for better defense against the Reapers. They only have one spaceport on the entire moon, which is being used to slowly funnel troops and civilians out. Their Navy's drifting out in dead space. We managed to draw the Reapers away, but they disabled the ships before they left, meaning that they're simply waiting for the occupants to die. The elcor refused to leave their ships and are waiting for repairs."

"So we've got two objectives."

"Sort of." Admiral Hackett replied. "You really have one objective, but it helps you complete the other. The Reapers are making a giant push with ground forces only, with all intentions to overwhelm the sole spaceport on the planet. After that, they'll probably just hit the fleet and knock the Elcor out of the equation."

"So you want us to go in and help, then?" I replied, a little suspicious. "We're good, Admiral, but we're not going to turn the tide of an entire war."

"You won't have to." Admiral Hackett replied. "We've coordinated with Elcor leadership and the Alliance fleets are sending in transports filled with our own Marines. Which has brought every Elcor across the moon flocking."

"Where, exactly, are we going to put them all?" I asked.

"We want you to take the ground troops and the navy." Admiral Hackett replied. "The civilians will be sent to one of the blackout colonies. They won't be safe forever, but it should give them a couple months. Any other questions?"

"Yes, sir." I replied, trying to think past the logistics, "What's the second part?"

"I will be leading in a lot of repair and refitting crews." He said, "All that we have. We are going to repair their engines, nothing more, then get them to Nedelas for further repairs."

"Understood." I said. I paused, not sure if I should voice it, then said, "You would think the Reapers would go for the spaceport first."

"They did." Admiral Hackett replied. "Thousands of elcor troops died to stop a single Reaper from destroying it."

"Damn." I muttered. "We'll set a course now, Admiral."

"Good." He answered. "Do us proud down there, Colonel. We're counting on you."

I turned the QEC off and looked around the War Room with a sigh.

_I have to break the news to the entire crew. _I thought to myself. _I really don't want to do this._

I didn't have a choice, thought. The crew needed to know.

"Anna."

"Yes, Colonel?" She replied, popping up from the podium at the QEC.

"Do me a favor." I told her, "Tell Allison to prepare an auto-pilot course to Oltan. Then inform everyone on the ship to head down to the shuttle bay."

"You're telling them?" Anna asked, her voice curious.

"Yeah." I muttered.

She disappeared from the podium, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I sat down in one of the chairs, staring at the readout from the War Room console but not really reading it. I had other things on my mind. Like how to tell the entire crew that I was their greatest enemy, who could turn on them and kill them all in an instant if I lost to the force trying to overtake my mind.

"They're all headed down there, Colonel." Anna replied. "Doctor Aline reports that she's sedated Captain Gerrard and he'll be makng a full recovery. He just needs rest. Admiral Zuril is going to stay with him."

"I'll wait a few minutes." I told the AI, "Then I'll go."

"Affirmative." Anna replied. She paused, then added, "May I ask you a personal question, Colonel?"

"Sure."

"You have no family, no intimate liasons and very few friends." She replied, "I wish to know why you're fighting the indoctrination, when you have very little reason to fight it."

I'd mulled this question over several times before, but had finally found an answer down there on Horizon.

"I do it for the team, Anna." I told her. "I look at Enua, Henry, Lena...all of them. I'm giving them a future."

"What about your future?" She asked, the little hologram looking confused.

"I don't know." I told her. "I don't think I'm going to survive this, but if I do...I'll worry about myself when this is all over."

"I see." Anna replied calmly, as though she'd expected the answer. "You're a very interesting organic, Colonel."

"Thanks." I muttered, pushing myself off the chair. I stretched and shook my muscles loose. I hadn't slept since the action on Noveria, so I was pushing two days. It was a seven-hour trip to Oltan, so I had time for five hours of sleep. It'd be enough to keep me on my feet during the next op. Provided there were no complications, of course.

_Which there will be. _I thought to myself as I stepped into the open elevator, barely aware of what I was doing. I felt anxiety and dread. _What if they're scared? What if they hate me for it?_

I pushed the thoughts out of my mind, trying to stay positive as the elevator descended. I rubbed my hands together and took a cloying breath, preparing.

_Spirits, _I groaned, _I need to find a way to suppress this headache._

When the door opened, the entire team and crew stood in the shuttle bay, deep in conversation with each other. I felt a smile tug at my mandibles, remembering again why I kept on going. Seeing all the biggest races in the galaxy actually communicating without hatred or bigotry was still incredible, every time I saw it. However, the moment I stepped out of the elevator, everyone stopped talking and turned towards me.

"I..." I started, scanning the crowd. My eyes found April nearby, who gave me a smile and an encouraging nod.

"I've got an announcement to make." I told everyone. "And it's bad."

There were confused and worried looks around everyone in the shuttle bay. I probably should've gone a little more in depth on the introduction to this madness. Mostly because 'bad' usually meant that an entire planet had been wiped out. I didn't know if what I had to say was worse.

"I got in a fight with Captain Gerrard on the Citadel over a very personal matter." I said quietly. "We're alright, now, but that's besides the point. During this fight, I pulled out my omni-blade and...attempted to kill him."

There were gasps and cries of outrage as everyone processed that. Even Enua's eyes went wide. I waited for it to die down before continuing.

"Between that, my recent outbreaks of anger and how I've been distancing myself from the team...I realized something was very wrong. Something I'd never even considered."

I looked out at the faces. A few of them were already horrified, having made the connection before I'd said anything else. I walked forward and put both of my hands on the weapons bench, pushing most of my weight forward onto them. I swallowed my fears and continued.

"I'm being indoctrinated."

If I thought everyone was shocked when I'd mention Henry and I, then this was something entirely different. Everybody who didn't already know was staring, eyes wide and mouths open. I felt like the vacuum of space was deafening, compared to the silence in the shuttle bay.

"It's not the same way that Elura was indoctrinated." I told the group, "It's been subtle and very insidious. Now that I'm aware of it, it should be easier to control."

No answer. The faces were all still the same, all of them wondering if they 'd have to kill me some time down the line.

"I...I'm still okay." I told them. "I'm still going to be leading, but I wanted you to all be aware."

"Sir, what if you-"

"I know." I replied, cutting off Staff Sergeant Valin before he could finish. "It's a risk, I'm aware of it. As I've said before, I'm still willing to fight and I've got nowhere to go. If I do turn, Captain Gerrard will take over. And if I turn, I've directed my team to...take care of it."

The silence continued and I bowed my head, unwilling to meet the eyes of the rest of the crew.

"Hell," Gunnery Sergeant Kala replied, the human team lead standing with arms crossed, "I'm still with you, sir. We've been kicking ass up and down this galaxy and there's no need to stop now. 'Specially when we got a cyborg turian front and center."

I looked at the human in surprise and saw a few people nodding around him.

"And if the Admiral trusts you," Risha'Zun piped up, drawing the attention of the quarian crew around her "We trust you."

"We haven't failed you yet, sir." Staff Sergeant Valin answered, the turian shifting his weight and crossing his arms, "And we don't plan to, at the moment."

I felt overwhelming emotion at their words, more than any turian was supposed to feel. I opened my mouth to find something to say, but the words wouldn't come. Finally, I found them.

"Thank you." I replied simply. I drummed my talons on the weapons bench and continued talking. "Now, our next mission is a big one. We are rescuing all of the Elcor, it seems. We're headed to Oltan and holding it while the Fifth Fleet evacuate them. I'm not sure what role the Vengeance will play, I'll have to adjust accordingly depending on the situation. Everyone keep your fringes straight and let's go, as the humans like to say, tear them a new one."

There was an entire chorus of affirmatives from the energetic crew.

"Dismissed." I ordered. I waited for them all to leave and wasn't too excited to see that my team was waiting behind for me, to continue the discussion.

"How's Henry?" April asked me, "I didn't get time to talk to him between pickup and this meeting."

"He'll be fine." I told her. There was a palpable easing of tension around the bay as everyone privately enjoyed the news. "He took one hell of a beating, between our fight and Cerberus' torture, but he just needs some rest. He should be on his feet in time for Oltan."

I spotted Ilna and realized that, with the Reapers headed for the Citadel, there was a problem.

"Have you made arrangements for your children?" I asked her.

"I have." She confirmed. "They're still on the Citadel, but Councilor Tevos owed me a favor for some business I cleaned up on Illium, so she moved my kids into a residential zone near C-Sec."

"Good." I replied, then looked at our pilot. "Allison, what can you tell me about the Elcor Navy?"

"We studied it at flight school." She replied, "Due to their conservative nature and conservative means of battle, they don't have fighters or frigates since they don't like to act quickly. As a result, there are a lot of cruisers and larger vessels but nothing small."

"Alright." I muttered, "Everyone get some sleep, if you haven't already. Otherwise, be ready for some pretty intense combat."

They all started towards the door to the elevator, save for one. April stayed behind, her light viridian eyes looking me over before looking over at the team. When the door finally closed on the team, she turned her gaze to me.

"Are you okay, Roluck?" She asked, her voice upturned to indicate that she was attempting to have a pleasant conversation.

"Why do you keep asking me that?" I asked her.

"Because I'm concerned about you." April answered with a small smile. "You seem exhausted."

"I haven't slept in a while." I explained, trying to get her off the subject.

"I don't really mean sleep." She admitted, looking down at the ground and wringing her hands, "I mean...I've seen soldiers burn out before. You look like you're about there."

"So what do you mean?"

"I guess..." she said, clearly trying to find the words, "Are you content?"

"Yes." I said, "Henry and Lena are finally done with their argument and the whole of the team is back together."

"I didn't ask how everyone else was doing." April replied with a small smile, "I asked how you're doing."

I paused for a moment, taking that question in.

Truth was, even in my downtime, I'd never fully taken stock of myself. I'd always been so worried about the status of my team or the next mission that I had utterly failed to take a moment and think of my own well-being. Even though I knew that my own condition was about as far from admirable as it could get.

To be honest, I wasn't exactly the picture of healthy. Not in any way. I drank more in the last couple of months than I had in my first thirty years combined. I found myself retreating to my office or the War Room every time we had free time. I was still wounded and the mission on Horizon had taken a bit out of me.

_At least the implants have settled a little. _I admitted, _That's a little aching gone._

There was something else, though. Something that I really didn't want to admit to even Henry. Ever since the surgery and finding out I was being indoctrinated, I'd been getting a vague, sinking feeling that I was not going to live past this war. Being honest with myself, I knew I'd be lucky to survive until the final battle.

_And that isn't the only problem._

My entire family now lay dead. My friends were dying, one by one. I couldn't even walk amongst civilians without sending them running in terror. Not to mention that my actions in Orrile were still fresh in my mind, the faces of those geth and quarians at the forefront of my thoughts every time I went to sleep. I had nobody to go back to after this war and there was a chance that the Heirarchy would try to drum me out of the military, for a wide variety of reasons. So what it really came down to was...

_Do I really __want__ to live in the aftermath of this war?_

Even now, I realized that this kind of self-inflection was something I tried to avoid, for good reason. When I had the next battle or crew conflict on my mind, I didn't have to think about myself.

I looked at April and, strangely, felt compelled to explain it to her.

"I am...tired." I replied quietly. "I wonder if I'll see the end of this."

"I'm sure you will." She assured me with cheer, "You're tough."

"It's not about being tough, April. Do I even have a right to see the end of this?" I wondered aloud, no longer really caring if April thought less of me or not. "After what I did on Orrile-"

"It was terrible." April agreed with a nod. "I know I've ridden you hard over it."

"I've _killed_ hundreds of people, April." I told her, looking up. "Maybe even over a thousand. But on Orrile, for the first time, I _murdered _people. I see them-the five of them-every time I go to sleep and they're the first thing on my mind when I wake up. Five people. I did the best thing I could for this galaxy. But I don't know how to make what I did right."

Ever since I was a newly minted soldier, I'd hated the cold, calculating part of me that could make decisions to send people to their deaths without flaring a mandible. It was the same part of me that had tossed the grenade into that closet with the innocents on Orrile. The same part of me that, right now, was wondering why I cared so much. That part of me knew I'd done the right thing and was questioning why I was so broken up over it.

April, for her part, had dropped the cheerful charade. She was frowning at me and her eyes held a level of calculation I'd never seen before. I couldn't blame her. Before this indoctrination business, I would've never even dreamed of saying a word to anyone about my own condition. Now, I felt as though time was running out. I felt like I had to let someone know that I wasn't what everyone believed me to be: a superhero.

"I asked you once, Roluck." She finally said, her voice slow as those eyes watched me, "What do you fight for?"

"For my crew." I told her, glad to field a question that I could answer quickly and without stumbling all over my words. "I'm fighting for a futu-"

"Once again." She said, "I'm not asking what you're fighting for on behalf of everyone else. I asked what you, personally, are fighting for."

I couldn't really escape the question. Not here on my ship. Nor at any moment during my sleepless hours. It had plagued me constantly and, unfortunately, I now knew the truth of the matter. It was the same reason I fought against the indoctrination so hard.

"I just answered you, April." I finally answered quietly, "I have nobody and nowhere to go to when this is over. I have nothing to gain. This war has claimed everyone I had. I look now to the future and I don't see myself in it, but I can give the future to everyone else. If I die at the end of all this and we've won, I can die happy."

She was silent, a contemplative look on her face. I very suddenly realized that I'd quite possibly described the situation she was in.

"April." I called out softly, prompting the human woman to look up at my face, "Don't become me. You have a future. You don't have to think about the terrible things you've had to do and you haven't been turned into some kind of sideshow medical experiment. Once the galaxy sets itself right again, you'll do just fine."

"Thanks." She answered, smiling widely. I gave her a nod, then turned to the elevator myself. I got in alone, turning back to the shuttle bay in time to catch April headed toward Enua's room. She had a wisp of a smile on her face, this one a lot more honest than most she'd ever plastered on.

_What's she smiling about?_

The door closed, leaving me alone in the elevator.

"Anna." I croaked.

"Yes, Colonel?" Anna asked, popping up at a platform near the weapons bench.

"Tell Lena that she's in charge while I'm sleeping." I instructed the AI. "Then wake me up an hour before Oltan."

"Affirmative, Colonel."

"Thanks."

The door opened to the crew berthing and I found myself on autopilot to my room, barely noticing how empty the berthing was. Then again, it always was when the ship was preparing to go into combat.

When I got to my bed, I found thoughts and pain running through my head. One was a product of the Reapers, but the other was my own.

I thought about Henry and Lena, imagining them both on Rannoch and starting their family on a new planet. I pictured Enua and Dr. Aline, the pair staying on the Citadel together until they died at the grand age of over a thousand. I thought of Krieg and his family, finally freed from the grip of the thousand-year death sentence that plagued them as they rebuilt their home. I imagined Allison and April, both of them continuing their incredible careers until they finally managed to settle down. Every crew member, with their own story to continue after the war.

_I can give that to them._

That was the last thought I had before I sunk into an uneasy darkness.


	86. Chapter 86

I woke to Anna calling my name. I glanced through the darkness to see her atop one of her pedestals.

"Is it time?" I asked.

"It is, Colonel." She answered. "The team is about ready and we're an hour out. Everybody's at their posts and Captain Gerrard is waiting outside your door."

"Thank you, Anna." I told her. I stood and stretched, loosening my muscles up.

I walked out of my room to see Henry leaning up against the wall opposite my door, fully armed and armored. He looked as though he'd been standing there for a while.

"Guarding me?" I wondered.

I watched as he spent roughly one second considering whether or not to lie to me.

"Yes." He answered with a shrug.

I didn't feel offended. Far from it, I was glad the team was taking this so seriously. I didn't lie to myself, I knew I was a bomb ready to go off and I could jeopardize the entire mission if I wasn't dealt with correctly.

I glanced around to find that we were alone, then gestured for him to follow me. He fell in next to me as I headed for the elevator.

"You and Lena worked things out?" I asked.

"That's one way of saying it, sure." Henry muttered with a grin. "Seriously, though, thanks for coming to get me. If that had gone on for too much longer, they probably would've just outright killed me."

"It looked pretty brutal, from what I saw." I admitted as I closed the doors to the elevator and pushed the button for the crew deck. Mercifully, Henry and I were alone in the elevator. "I'm surprised you weren't unconscious, to be completely honest."

"I was, actually." He answered. "A couple of times, I passed out from the pain. They always woke me up, just to go at it again."

I didn't know how to answer that, so merely let the silence thicken between us until Henry found a new subject to talk about.

"So when are you going to do...something...with April?"

"Do something?" I asked, confused.

"C'mon, Roluck." He said as the door opened. I started forward towards the showers and he followed. "You've got to realize that she likes you. A lot. Maybe even more than Allison."

"Allison doesn't-"

"Yeah and bears don't shit in the woods." Henry said, right before we stopped in front of the door to the showers. While I tried to figure out what the hell a 'bear' was, he put a hand near the button, preventing me from opening it. "Look, Roluck. I'm concerned about you. Well, after the indoctrination thing, everyone is, but not like I am. You're headed towards a bad place and soon. I was almost there, you remember that."

"I do." I told him, annoyed that he was blocking me from getting to where I need to go. I gave him my attention, so he'd go away quicker.

"Look, I know you don't like discussing your personal life or lack thereof with everybody." Henry reasoned. "I get that. Soon, though, we're all going to likely die-"

"You don't think we'll make it through?" I asked, surprised. I'd figured that ever since he'd patched things up with Lena, he'd be a little more optimistic. "We're on a pretty good path, here. Things haven't been completely smooth, but we've been pulling serious forces under our banner."

"I know what we tell the crew, Roluck, but I know better." He said, looking a little downcast, "Do I think we'll win this campaign? I think we've got a shot. Do I think STT Zeta, being on the frontlines of the entire campaign against the Reapers, will survive? I doubt it."

"We're some of the best fighters in the galaxy, Henry." I countered, all annoyance driven out of my mind as I became truly interested in this conversation, "You know that."

"It doesn't matter how good we are if a Reaper decides to vaporize us." Henry said, "Look, everything else aside, whether we survive or not, do you really want to march into these final battles with regrets? I know I don't."

I weighed his words and was surprised to find that he had a legitimate point. April was committed to this fight and any involvement with her would not jeopardize her willingness to continue the war.

_And I need something to look forward to. _I admitted guiltily.

Also, no matter what I told myself, I knew that I cared about April. I might've cared about Allison even more, but I doubted there would ever be any reciprocation there. With April, though, she'd shown a lot of personal concern over my condition, even more than Henry. Quite honestly, I'd never had a thing for humans, but I cared for April and I was sure she at least harbored some feelings towards me. Human or not, that was enough.

Henry watched my silent musings until I met his gaze.

"You're right." I told him quietly. "After this battle, I'll need to say something."

"Atta boy." Henry said with a wide grin.

"Asshole." I muttered.

I showered up quickly then joined Henry for a quick meal before we headed down to the Shuttle Bay. Everyone was milling about and conversing, but I noticed April standing off by herself, re-assembling her weapon on the weapons bench. I looked over to see Henry scowling at her invasion of his space.

I approached her, ignoring everyone else as Henry split off to talk to Lena. I placed the palms of my hands down on the weapons bench and rested my weight on them as April looked up at me.

"We need to talk." I told her.

"What about?" She asked.

_Spirits, why is this so hard? _I wondered, marveling inwardly over my difficulty to find the words to say. _I've killed hundreds of enemies trying to kill me but I can't simply strike up a personal conversation with someone I care about?_

"About you and I, I guess." I muttered, forcing the words out of my mouth.

To my distinct pleasure, April's smile nearly blinded me.

"I didn't think you'd ever..." She started a little too loudly, then glanced around and lowered her voice before looking back at me with those light viridian eyes, "I'm glad."

"We'll talk about it after the mission." I said, "I just...felt like you needed to know."

"Thanks for telling me." She said, a sly grin on her face, "It'll give us both something to look forward to after Oltan."

I gave her a nod, then started towards my locker.

It was an odd feeling, after everything had gone wrong, that things seemed to be settling back into place. I felt a small smile stealing onto my face as I grabbed my Harrier and started putting my armor on.

For the first time since I'd joined STT Zeta, I was content. My head was pounding and my thoughts were hard to hold onto with the whispering in my head, but I was content.

"We've got two minutes until we touch down on Oltan." Allison reported over the speakers, drawing the combat team's attention, "I'll drop you and then move to the fleet with Admiral Hackett."

"Thanks, Allison." I answered, looking at my team as they assembled. "Alright, we're going to take the Mako, but avoid the Kodiak. We will not have air superiority in this battle, as we'll be depending on the Marines and the elcor to hold off the air assault with whatever anti-air units they have. Our focus will be on the ground. We'll stay together until I figure out the situation down there."

"Affirmative." Henry replied for the group. "Who'll pilot the Mako?"

"April and Nesk." I replied immediately. "Urre, I want you to stay close to me at all times. If I'm not mistaken, this is going to be a _very _rough fight."

"Got it."

"One minute." Allison reported as Nesk and April climbed into the Mako. I clasped on the helmet and started towards the door of the bay as it started to open.

Below us, I could see the dull gray landscape of the moon. There were no Reapers, but I could see a confusing mass of people in the sprawling network of defensive structures down below us. I had no way to discern what was Reaper and what was elcor.

The headache suddenly doubled in intensity, much to my displeasure. I could feel the throbbing in my head that signified the Reapers were not close enough to try to overpower me, but close enough to hurt me.

As we descended into the large spaceport, the sounds of battle started reaching my ears. The battle was everywhere, with the only safe haven in the spaceport. As we landed, I saw elcor running around, the big, four-legged people walking on feet and knuckles. It was easy to see who was a combatant and who was not. The elcor who were in the fight had what looked to be heavy weapons of all kinds attached to their backs while those that didn't were huddled in 'herds' and either boarding ships or awaiting ships.

"Ten seconds." Allison reported as we all gathered at the door, holding onto the frame and preparing to drop. Given the nature of this mission, it was important for Allison to get in and out of the spaceport as quickly as possible to avoid jamming up the incoming transports. As such, we'd be doing a quick jump down.

I could already see where I needed to go. There were Alliance Marines mixed in with the elcor as well and off in a corner, I could see a tiny, makeshift command post that had been set up out of the way of the transports and contained a few Alliance Marines and elcor.

The spaceport itself was more of a makeshift base with room for landing ships. There were three walls built of very-strong looking metal that had soldiers atop them firing out at anything they could safely shoot. There was a gap in the walls about a quarter mile from the landing area. That exit led into the massive sprawling compound where the battle was.

"Go." Allison ordered.

I jumped first, suspended briefly in the air before hitting the ground two yards below. I bent my knees to absorb the impact before watching the rest of my team drop. When the Mako finally landed, I had April and Nesk get out and everyone followed me to the command post.

Colonel Alexander had apparently been promoted since we'd last seen him on Asteria. The Fifth Fleet Brigade Commander gave me a tired smile as I approached with my team. A pair of Marines were behind him, while four elcor stood across from him.

"Here we are again, Colonel Vether." Colonel Alexander scoffed, holding out a hand towards me. I shook the offered hand before turning to the elcor. "This is General Hittul. He's in command down here."

"Sincerely:" The elcor slowly started, his small eyes on me as the small flaps at his mouth moved with his speech. The elcor were a species that had difficulty conveying their emotions to other species, seeing as the speech between each other had entire universes of subtlety. As such, they prefaced each conversation with an emotion to help non-elcor understand their flat speech. "Thank you for coming, Colonel. We need all the help we can get."

"I'm guessing at an hour before the Reaper ships come back." Colonel Alexander told me as I leaned down and looked at the holodisplay of the compound they stood between. The Reapers and civilians were all mixed in together, making air assaults impossible without inflicting civilian casualties. "Until then, we need to get as many civilians and troops out as possible. We've got a few carriers standing by that are off-loading the transports and sending them back at a rate of fifteen minutes each. Total of one hundred and twenty transports. So far, they've been full up, so I'd say we've pulled a few hundred thousand off the planet so far."

"How many do you think we'll be able to grab before we have to retreat?" April asked. The Colonel merely shrugged.

"I'm not here to do math." Colonel Alexander said, "We'll find out how many we rescued when the mission is over."

_Fair point._

"So where are we needed?" I asked.

"Originally," Colonel Alexander started, "I was going to have Zeta reinforce the spaceport and hold that while civilians came in. But the Reapers advanced too quickly. Now we need to secure civilians more than the spaceport. I've distributed enough forces to hold the spaceport against a full assault, but I'm sending out teams to help free up the elcor troops and civilians. I'd like Zeta to be one of those teams."

I looked back down at the display and Lena beat me to the question I had in mind.

"Why don't we just progressively free up civilians until we've pushed out?"

"Regretfully:" General Hittul started, "Freeing up pockets of elcor doesn't look suspicious. It makes the battle look just as hectic as one would expect. If we start pushing outwards and actually winning the battle, more Reaper forces will come in from surrounding areas and make further extraction impossible. The sad truth is, we have to keep this battle even in order to save more people."

"Well then," I said, "Let me give my orders and we'll move out."

"Keep me updated, Colonel." Colonel Alexander replied, turning to the two Marines as I turned to my team.

"Alright!" I yelled over the dull roar of a landing transport, "You heard the man! We're going to do this nice and slow. I want a perimeter around the Mako and we'll push in using that. The perimeter will focus on smaller enemies while the Mako picks up brutes and banshees. If anyone spots an incoming harvester, alert the group so we can shift fire as needed. Any questions?"

Nobody had anything to say, already looking grim and ready to start the battle.

"Good." I continued. "Lena and Ilna will keep in the Mako. I want April out in case of injuries. Urre, stick close to me."

I got affirmatives from everyone I mentioned and as Lena and Ilna climbed into the Mako, everyone else climbed on top. I pulled myself up near the cannon and sunk down next to April. The human woman gave me a look through her helmet that told me she was smiling at me. I gave her a brief nod as the Mako began to move towards the gap in the defenses I'd noted earlier.

As we drove along, several Marines and even elcor cheered us on as we approached the gap. It seemed they knew who we were and I felt a pang of guilt as I realized they expected us to be able to save everyone. That was a miracle that we could not pull off.

We neared the gap, which was about fifty yards wide and absolutely overrun with Marines and combat-ready elcor. There were a lot of dead bodies, both Reaper and civilians, in the 'plaza' ahead, but there was very little combat going on. Mostly, there were civilians filtering towards the gap as the combatants picked off any Reapers who charged into the area.

_They're holding well. _I thought to myself, _But it's going to be really bad further in._

"Dismount." I ordered when we finally reached the exit. Everyone jumped to the ground and I opened a channel in my helmet. "Colonel, where do you need us?"

There was a moment of silence, presumably as he tried to find our location on the confusing overlay they had of the city.

"I got you." He muttered. "Head about a quarter mile northeast. There's a square where about two hundred elcor troops are trying to fend off Reaper forces. They're reporting hundreds of civilians behind them."

"We're on our way." I told him.

The Mako pushed forward towards a small alleyway with us at its sides. I was up on the front side of the left column and Henry was on the front of the right column.

A trio of marauders appeared at the end of the alleyway, crossing to the other end of the street. Due to our formation, everyone on foot could only provide limited fire to the front and back, but a lot of fire to the flanks. However, the Mako covered for our lack of firepower towards the front and back.

I snapped up my Harrier and fired a string of rounds at the lead Marauder. I heard the nearly silent sound of Henry's Locust firing and the marauder in the back began to jerk convulsively.

I heard the sound of Lena clearing her throat over my radio and there was a _boom _that staggered me as the Mako's cannon fired. With a small explosion, the marauders at the end of the alleyway were vaporized.

"Fair enough." I grumbled.

We continued on to the end of the alleyway.

"Halt." I called, stopping the group. I glanced out around the end of the alleyway to get a feel of what we'd be walking into.

_On a corner. _I observed, looking out. _Objective's straight ahead, but there's fighting in the intersection to the west. We can free them up and still get ahead. There's enough cover for them to fight, but not enough for the team to traverse the road._

"Henry, Barin and Enua." I started, getting the attention of the three, "We've got to traverse an intersection. There's a fight on the left. I want you to use some pinpoint shooting where you can and try to free them up. We're going to hide behind the Mako and cross the street, since we can't fire the Mako's weapons at them without killing civilians."

"We're on it." Henry said, joining up behind me with the other two in tow.

"Everyone else use the Mako as a screen as we cross." I ordered.I joined them on the right side of the Mako. Slowly, Ilna throttled the Mako forward and we followed next to it, staggered outwards to avoid any grenades from taking us all out. I heard the sound of Angel joined by two assault rifles as we slowly made our way across the street.

Stray rounds pinged off of the Mako, which managed to hide us from view and shield us from fire. Something caught the corner of my eye and I glanced over to see a trio of small elcor trying to flee into another alleyway as they were chased by a band of husks. I glanced over at the Mako, then back at them.

_We have a moment. _

"Mako, continue on." I ordered. "Nesk, April, you're with me. We'll catch up in a second, got a few kids to rescue."

We split from the pack and I began to open fire on the group of husks. My first pair of rounds hammered through the torso of the first husk, dropping him to the ground. I saw a ball of biotic energy slam into another one, throwing it roughly to the ground. Nesk took out a trio of them with a well timed grenade as I opened up on yet another.

There was a shriek behind us and everything became a confused jumble as an explosion nearly ruptured my eardrums and forced me flat to the ground. I heard the sounds of something crashing to the ground and shot from the floor, stumbling into the same alleyway the elcor children were huddled in. I tripped and crashed into the floor in a heap.

I managed to gather my senses enough to turn and look back towards where I'd been standing.

Something, a harvester most likely, had dropped one of their 'bombs' on a nearby building. The building had exploded and the top half of it had come toppling down onto the streets, forcing me into the alleyway. I looked around to see April and Urre next to me, both of them wide-eyed from the sudden surge of adrenaline.

"Nesk..."I muttered, looking around.

I spotted him, lying under concrete and twisted steel. Two tons of concrete and twisted steel. From the blood around him and the deformation of his body, I doubted he was still alive.

_Dammit. _I moaned, _Another one._

"Oh no..." April whispered.

"Henry?" I asked over our comms channel, "Lena? Anyone there?"

"Henry here." Henry replied, "We're cut off from the Mako. We freed up the civilians, but we're staring at an intersection and there are only three of us."

"Lena reporting." Lena answered, "Krieg and the Mako made it out. How're you?"

"Nesk is dead." Was the only answer I could think to give.

"God dammit." Krieg grunted.

"Shit." Henry muttered. "What about Urre? I didn't hear from him."

"He's with me." I answered, looking down at the salarian reporter.

"Orders?" Lena asked.

"You and Henry rendezvous further on up towards the objective." I said, "Henry, stick to side streets and alleyways. If you can't meet back up, I'll need Lena to help the elcor at the original coordinates and Henry, you help out where you can. Give me updates regularly."

"You got it." Lena answered.

I looked around again, my eyes landing on Nesk's body. I tore my gaze from him and towards the trio of terrified elcor children. Then I looked back up at April, who was staring at Nesk with tears in her eyes.

"We need to go."


	87. Chapter 87

A half hour later and I still hadn't managed to rejoin the rest of the group. Lena had managed to push the Mako and Krieg into the original missions, freeing everyone up as she was rejoined by the rest of the team. Between April and I, we'd managed to clear a dozen or so fights, but the fighting was getting thicker with Reapers as more and more civilians either died or escaped.

_We're going to have to push up the timetable of this retreat a little bit._

I put down a husk with a pair of rounds as I heard April firing away next to me. A pair of marauders came around the corner to my left, chasing a dozen elcor. I raised my weapon to fire, when they suddenly stopped, a blue field around them indicating that April had them in stasis.

"That's the last of them." I muttered, "Let's move. Passage to the right."

April and I both shot up off of the ground with Urre between us as we dashed towards the opening. the marauders were still in stasis, buying us enough time to move on without wasting ammo. When we made it to the other end of the passage, We found ourselves in a relatively clear area, with only a couple of husks running around.

"Take care of those." I ordered April, before opening a channel to Colonel Alexander.

"Vether." Col. Alexander acknowledged, his voice conveying magnitudes of exhaustion. "What do you need?"

"I'm cut off from the rest of my team." I told him, "But we need to head back. The fighting's getting too thick and I think we've done all we can here."

"I was about to suggest you all come back, myself." Colonel Alexander admitted. "Your pilot is incoming and I have your team on the overlay. I can't find you, but it could be because you're not as big a presence."

"We can still see the base." I told him, "We're a little less than a mile out. We're going to start making our way back. I'll issue the orders."

"Roger." He answered, "We're starting to pull our Marines out and we've got bomber squadrons coming in to screen our retreat in ten minutes."

As we crossed the road and slipped into another alleyway, I got back onto the channel with Henry.

"Henry." I said, checking behind me to make sure Urre was still following as we picked the pace up into a jog, "We've got to head back. Things are becoming too risky out here."

"Yeah." Henry said, "We're not seeing that many elcor, anymore. The Marines are starting to pack it in, if what I hear is correct."

"They're going to start bombing the area in fifteen minutes." I agreed, "I'd suggest you'd mount the Mako and have it drive you out of there."

"Are you going to be able to get back in time?" Henry wondered.

"We're not even a mile out." I told him, "Assuming we don't get bogged down in firefights, we should be able to make it easily."

"We'll be waiting." Henry assured me.

We emerged near an intersection, where we had to come to a stop.

There were literally hundreds of elcor, both combatant and noncombatants, that had been herded into a group by the reapers. I hadn't seen elcor husks yet, but I was sure they would be just as horrifying as their brethren. I assumed that was the point of the group I saw in front of me. They were surrounded on four sides by reapers, with more groups being filtered into the captive throng.

_We need to help. _I reasoned. I took a glance at the side that was facing away from us. There were two marauders, a brute and a banshee. I looked to April, who gave me a nod. She was willing to do this.

"Grenades." I muttered. She pulled one out and I pulled out my last one, as well. It was a concussion grenade, much to my displeasure. "Alright, April. You hit the banshee and brute with the frag. Hopefully, they'll block shrapnel from hitting the elcor. I'll take out the marauders and then hit the brute. Keep biotics against the banshee, it tends to be more damaging that bullets against the barriers."

"On it." She replied, twisting the top half of the grenade. I did the same as well, tossing mine out towards the marauders as she threw her grenade towards the two heavies. Before the grenades had even hit, my hands were on my assault rifle and I was bringing it up.

With a boom, the two heavies both stumbled forward from the frag grenade as the marauders were knocked to the ground by the concussion grenade. I opened fire on the marauders, pouring as many bullets as I could into the two ranged opponents. April moved into the middle of the street to draw the heavies away from the crowd. Husks moved up the side and I began to engage them as they came in.

After the second husk, I had to quickly reload, but one got too close. I brought my fist back, the omin-blade unfolding as I did so. I plunged the blade into the husk, then kicked it away as I fumbled with my Harrier again. I reloaded just in time to catch another husk that had gotten too close.

I looked over to see how April was doing. She was switching clips, as well. With a roar, the brute charged her, but she managed to dive out of the way.

Leading her right in front of the banshee.

"April!" I yelled, trying to alert her. I raised my weapon to fire and slow the banshee.

It was too late. The banshee swung its lethal claws and effectively impaled April from behind. I felt all the breath leave my body and my heart screech to a halt as the bloody tips of the banshee's claws emerged sickeningly from April's belly.

"NO!" I shouted, firing at the banshee, startling the reaper into dropping April as it turned to me.

The brute charged me down, but I moved to the side, keeping an eye on the banshee as I fired into the brute's back. Whatever April had done beforehand must've weakened it, because it dropped to the ground with a guttural groan. I heard deep cheering and eclor started to stream in behind me, trying to evade fire from the reapers behind them as they began to dash towards the spaceport.

The banshee closed in, but I heard a wild scream from behind the banshee, who turned just in time to see April disappear from view and use her biotics to charge, slamming into the banshee so hard that the reaper was nearly knocked down. I fired into the back of the banshee's head, emptying the rest of the clip as the banshee's sagged to the ground with a defeated wail.

April smiled at me for a moment, then dropped to the ground.

"April!" I yelled, diving down towards the bloodied woman and scooping her up in my arms.

I held onto her, the sounds of the surrounding battle fading to a distant whisper as her light viridian eyes consumed my vision and her quiet voice deafened me. Despite the severe wounds, she was smiling through bloodied lips.

_Nonononono. _I pleaded to myself, _Don't die, please._

"Don't." I told her, feeling panic gripping me like a vice, "Please don't. I-"

"It's okay, Roluck." She said in a strained whisper, her eyes fastened on mine as her hand clutched mine in a vice-like grip. "You'll be okay. Don't be sa-"

She was cut off by an involuntarily gasp, then the light faded from her eyes and she was gone.

If I had been human, I might've cried. I was a turian, though. I was emotionless and tough. Impossible to shake.

But at the moment, I wanted nothing more than to stay next to her until the Reapers swallowed us up. I felt a hand shaking my shoulder and snapped out of my daze to see Urre looking down on me, crouched down slightly to avoid fire.

_Why? _I managed to think past the ever-increasing buzzing in my head, _Why her? Why her of all the team?_

"I know you don't want to," He started, his tinny voice anxious, "But we need to go, Roluck."

I wanted to shove Urre away, or tell him to go on without me. There was a voice in the back of my head, though. The voice I hated. The voice that kept me alive and from letting the Reapers take me over. The one that was telling me Urre was right, that I needed to get up and moving and could mourn later.

I pulled my pistol as I stood, holding it out to the combat reporter.

"I...I can't do it." I told him. "I know you're not supposed to shoot, but..."

"I understand, Colonel." The salarian reporter said with a nod, grabbing the pistol as his face grew grim.

I couldn't even look, turning away from the pair as I looked out at the elcor streaming past us. There was a deafening gunshot and Urre moved next to me, placing the pistol back in my hand.

"Thanks." I muttered. "We...we should join the rush."

I bolted forward and into the crowd of elcor, not willing to admit that I was entirely too eager to be away from that spot, away from the lifeless husk that had once been April's body. I was reminded yet again of Krylin, of Nesk, Eryc, Elura and Errahe.

I thought of April's smile and the times she'd pulled me out of the hole I'd managed to crawl into nearly every day.

_My one chance. _I thought to myself. _The one woman who looked past everything. _

It was a very good thing that there were no reapers around on the rush back to base. As Urre fell in behind me as best as he could, I dimly realized that not only was I in no condition to fight, but I was very low on ammo.

The sun was starting to go down and it was starting to get very cold. It was a very dim thought, though, my shocked mind too busy trying to flee. From April and from everything else. I'd been gloomy and depressed from the beginning, but I was now seeing how hopeless things were for me.

_Maybe I should put Henry in charge. _I thought as I ran, seeing the entrance of the base ahead. _Just leave, go somewhere and finish it. Nobody wins. Not the Reapers, not me. Just-_

I stopped dead in the road, the line of reasoning sounding familiar.

"No." I muttered, "I'm not listening to you."

I felt the pain in my head double, nearly rendering me incapable of standing. I clutched at my head, the pain and April the only things in my mind.

"Colonel!" I heard a voice yelling. A hand was shaking me again. Urre. "Come on, we're almost there!"

"There's a Reaper coming." I warned him.

Sure enough, there was that familiar, deep bass roar that seemed to come from everywhere at once. I looked up into the darkening sky just in time to see the Vengeance pull into the atmosphere with a massive Reaper Capital ship on her tail.

This Reaper seemed _different, _somehow

_**TURIAN. **_A deep voice resonated in my mind. For the first time, I felt terror as I realized that the Reaper was speaking to me directly. As I stumbled forward towards the entrance, it continued_. __**YOUR EFFORTS ARE FUTILE. I AM HARBINGER AND I AM YOUR FUTURE. YOUR ONLY DESTINY.**_

I thought of April again and felt anger and defiance rising to the surface. My vision seemed to clear a bit as I began to dash towards the spaceport. I saw transports all over the area, picking up everyone they could as bombers began to rain hell on the streets behind us. I saw a Kodiak sitting on the ground, with Risha'Zun up front and beckoning to me. Everyone else but Lena was in the shuttle, gesturing me in frantically.

I stepped up the pace.

_**YOU WILL SOON BEG FOR YOUR DESTINY. **_The deep voice rumbled again, _**VETHER. YOU WILL SOON BE MY GENERAL, MY AGENT TO BRING ORDER INTO THIS GALAXY.**_

I made it to the shuttle and felt strong hands grab me as Krieg and Henry reached out and pulled me into the transport. Barin lifted Urre into the transport and they toppled to the floor.

Henry yelled something. I couldn't quite understand what he was saying, but Urre answered loudly enough to be heard over the noise of the bombs, gunfire and two ships tearing up the sky. Henry directed a quick glance down at me and then slammed the door closed before yelling at Lia.

"This is going to be a very rough pickup." I distantly heard Allison report, "Everyone brace themselves."

I felt a strong hand grab onto one of the crevasses of armor. I looked up to see Henry standing there, his eyes on me as he looped his other arm around a rail.

_**FLEE. **_Harbinger ordered me, his voice speaking magnitudes of anger and power. _**I WILL FIND YOU AGAIN.**_

Suddenly, I felt weightless and then there was agony as I slammed against the bulkhead of the shuttle. Everyone was jostled around, but then there was quiet. There was peace.

My mind was in shambles. I could barely string together a coherent thought, images of April and Krylin rushing through my mind. I still felt the presence of Harbinger, the leader of our destruction.

I distantly heard people trying to talk to me, but I couldn't understand anything. I couldn't think past the image of the banshee punching through April.

There was a sudden impact as a fist collided with my face. Somehow, the blow was strong enough to knock me out of my current confusion, my thoughts managing to coalesce into something coherent. I looked up.

Henry was standing over me, heaving from the adrenaline coursing through his body as he shook out his hand from the hit. Krieg appeared to have taken some hits, from the orange blood covering him, but seemed not to notice them. Urre was in a corner, with Barin sprawled overtop him. Ilna was in the passenger's seat and rubbing her arm from where she'd slammed into the shielding. Enua was flexing her shoulder, creating intermittent spurts of blood between a wound there. Lia'Vael seemed fine as she looked back at us.

"You alright?" Henry asked.

"April." I muttered.

"I know." He said, extending a hand down to me. I accepted it and let the man pull me up. "I'm sorry, man. What happened to you out there?"

"We're away!" Allison yelled triumphantly over the speakers in the shuttle. "We escaped!"

"Harbinger." I said, finally finding my strength. "That was Harbinger."

"You mean _the _Harbinger?" Enua asked, her eyebrows raised, "As in, the leader of the Reapers?"

"Yes." I replied. "It spoke to me. It tried to...well, it's not important now."

"You should head up to your office and get some sleep there." Henry ordered me. "I can keep the peace here."

"Yeah." I muttered as everyone shifted around towards the exit. "Yeah, I'll get the report and get some sleep."

I stepped out of the shuttle, which had been slammed up against the back of the shuttle bay. The Mako was on its side, with Lena crawling out of the hatch gingerly. She said something to me, but I was too lost to try to hold a conversation with anyone, right now.

My mind was still a confused daze as I walked towards the elevator. I numbly pressed the button for the crew deck. The ride was blissfully silent as I tried to get everything in order, tried to plan out my next move. I couldn't do it. I didn't know if it was April or Harbinger, but I couldn't think straight.

When the door opened, I just managed to make it to my office before I collapsed into my chair. I slowly poured myself a drink, not sure what else to do, at the moment. I was about to open a channel with Hackett, when somebody else strode into my office.

"Did you see that big bastard?" Allison asked, the Alliance pilot's face lined with excitement. "I think it was Harbinger!"

"It was." I muttered, "I...I guess 'talked'...to him."

There must've been something in my tone or the way I was sitting or...something. Allison's demeanor immediately shifted from 'excited' to 'concerned'.

"You talked to him?" She asked. "Wow. That must've been an experience."

I just nodded, taking a sip of the brandy. I saw Allison's emerald eyes glance at the drink, but she wisely chose not to make note of it.

"What's wrong, Boss?"

"Nesk didn't make it." I told her quietly.

"Damn." She said, her face transitioning to something closing in on sorrow. "I alw-"

"And neither did April." I finished, my voice betraying me and stumbling all over her name.

Silence descended throughout the room as Allison looked at me, fidgeting with a lock of red hair as if deciding whether or not she should say something.

"Boss," She started, "I'm sor-"

I slammed my fist down on the desk angrily, making Allison jump.

_I'm tired of everyone saying they're sorry. _I growled internally. _Tired of the same old platitudes, the same old speeches._

Then, on the tail end of that thought:

_You're not the only one on the team who's lost people they care about. In fact, the woman in front of you lost someone she cared about by Henry's own hand._

I got myself under control and managed to look back up at a slightly defensive Allison. She seemed wary of me, as if waiting for my next angry move.

"Sorry." I said, "That was childish."

I couldn't meet her eyes anymore, looking down at the table before me. I brought a mangled hand up and scratched at one of my mandibles. I felt a little more calm, now. My thoughts and mannerisms were managing to line up into something resembling my old self.

"I need to get some sleep." I told her. "Three hours. Harbinger took a lot out of me. Henry's going to be taking over while I'm down. Sorry again for snapping at you."

"Yeah." Allison muttered, looking me over. "Get some sleep, Boss. You need it."

I watched her retreat through the door and then turned my thoughts inward as I started opening up a channel.

_You're an idiot._

"Vether." Admiral Hackett's voice said, shaking me out of my thoughts. I looked down at my terminal to see the waveform moving. "Good job on that last mission. I heard you lost a couple people. One of them somewhat close."

"We did." I said, my voice once again betraying me.

"I know there's not much that can be said to make it better." Hackett replied. "So I won't try. Instead, I thought you should know that you and your team personally got about forty thousand civilians freed up and out, along with ten-thousand troops. Not a bad day's work."

"How many were saved, total?" I asked him.

_Good. _My stunned brain thought, _Back to business. Get back into the routine. _

"Seven-hundred thousand civilians, one-hundred and fifty thousand troops." He answered immediately. "I'll send over the numbers of the fleet to you, but added to what you already have, you're looking at a twenty percent increase in your naval forces."

"Good." I muttered. I imagined he'd send the civilians to a blackout colony, named such simply because they were only reachable through the drives our team and the STT leadership had invested in. Ever since the war began, refugees were getting stacked up out on those colonies with just enough supplies to keep them going.

"I hear Harbinger was down there?" He asked.

"It was chasing our ship." I told him. "It...it spoke to me."

"Really?" Hackett said, his voice turning interested. "What did it say?"

"The usual doom and gloom monologue." I grunted. "It has plans for me, Admiral."

"I don't doubt it." He said. There was a silence, then he spoke again. "If you want to walk away from all this, nobody would blame you."

"I either win or I die, Admiral." I told him. "I know the location of our forces. If the reapers take me and I successfully get to them, I'll lead them right to our people. Better I stay here, where people with guns can keep an eye on me."

"Understood, Colonel." The Alliance Admiral replied, "I'll be hosting another War Council in six hours. Be there. Hackett out."

When the line went dead, I looked around the small room, then back to the cot I'd set up in here for when I was too busy to get sleep down in the crew quarters.

"Anna." I said aloud to the room.

"Yes, Roluck?" The AI said, her tiny figure popping up on a nearby pedestal.

"Give me three hours." I told her. "And keep an eye on my heart rate. I don't know if it'll shift if something happens, but better to be careful."

"I'll monitor your stress levels." Anna replied, "It's a better indicator of reaper influence."

"Yeah, thanks for that." I muttered, finishing the rest of my drink.


	88. Chapter 88

I drummed my talons on the table as I awaited the rest of the War Council to show up.

I was better, now. I was processing April and Nesk's death a little easier, rather than having to deal with it after a mental assault by Harbinger. I was still having trouble thinking about April. While we hadn't gotten the time to truly get close, she'd been closer than anyone else on the ship. Now I just felt a little lost.

Still, our forces had increased a bit and I was hearing that we'd be moving on Rannoch, soon. I needed direction right now. Something-_anything_-to keep my mind off April.

"We're all here." Admiral Hackett said. "Obviously, the first item on our list is the Citadel. Executor Bailey, how's that going?"

"They've only been able to take the tips of the arms." Bailey reported, his voice being carried by an undercurrent of static. We've covered the rest of the Citadel with AA armaments to make the tips look more enticing. They dropped a lot of troops, though. Almost a hundred thousand, if our reports are accurate. But, the Reaper ships backed off, content to let their armies deal with it."

"How's the control room?" Hackett asked. "And the Councilors?"

"The control room is under constant supervision by some of the Spectres who got trapped on the station." Bailey answered. "They're lead up by Ashley Williams. We've also got a full platoon of asari commandos watching. I've got my techs keeping an eye on systems on shift. They'll have to kill us all before they take that control room. On top of that, my techs are trying to figure out a way to destroy the signal permanently."

"And the Councilors?"

"Tevos and Valern are safe." Bailey answered. "Sparatus refused to hide with them and is up front with the turian and Alliance soldiers that are holding at the tips."

"You could've stopped him." Primarch Victus noted, sounding a little displeased. I didn't know what the problem was. I couldn't have been prouder of our Councilor.

"We need everyone that can hold a gun, Primarch." Bailey replied. "Besides, it does good for the men to see their Councilor up there and shooting Reapers with the rest of them."

"Very well." Hackett replied. "I'll keep you apprised on our progress. Keep up the good work, we're on track to come down in a month."

"Thank you, Admiral."

"Now," Admiral Hackett continued, "Our mission on Oltan was a mixed success. Zeta lost a couple of team members-"

I felt my mind drifting down to April again and steered it back towards the conversation at hand.

"-idn't rescue everyone from the surface." Admiral Hackett was saying, "But there were only light losses to our Marines and we pulled eight-hundred and fifty thousand elcor off the surface. The non-com's are headed for a blackout colony. As for everyone else, they fall under Zeta's jurisdiction."

I reminded myself to give Engineer Kora a checkup at the Nedelas field. With the Elcor fleet incoming, he might be having trouble with supplies.

"Shepard, what have you got?"

"I've managed to pull in some more forces around the galaxy, looking at a thirty percent increase." Shepard said, her voice surprisingly at ease, "I saved Koris and secured some pretty useful Primes and I'm ready to move on the Reaper signal on Rannoch."

"And then what?" Admiral Hackett asked.

"Here's the sticking point, sir." She said, "I don't know if I can get the quarians to treat with the geth in the middle of a battle."

I had a thought and decided to express it.

"I may have a solution for your problem, Commander." I replied.

"Please, share." Hackett said.

"The Salarian Third Fleet is pretty adept at drawing out fights without casualties on either side." I said, "We could have them swing in and take over for the quarian fleets. Then, once you resolved the issue with the signal, I could help further."

"How's that?"

"As you know, we have a quarian Admiral aboard." I said, "Specifically, an Admiral of the quarian Marines. She's eager to treat with the geth and we might be able to use that. If we can bring the entirety of the Marines in on the transports and put them on Rannoch, the quarian flotilla will be forced to deal with the geth, lest they risk harming their own people."

"You're talking about using them as shields." Primarch Victus pointed out dubiously.

"They're not going to kill off such a big slice of their own population." I said, "They're going to be forced to compromise with the geth and hell, we may be able to force a truce if we play our cards right."

"Then we might be able to get geth assist as well." Shepard muttered, "Along with our promised quarian assistance."

"Do it, Colonel." Hackett said. "Good call. I'm already notifying Clan Enute of Nesk's death, by the way. No need to worry about that. Just focus on the mission."

"Yes, Admiral." I said, realizing very suddenly that there would be no memorial for April. Where would we hold it? The Citadel was a dead zone, for the moment.

"Any other issues?" Hackett asked.

"One more issue." Said a new voice, this one heavily modulated. I looked down at the label to see 'Shadow Broker' printed on the label. I nearly laughed, but managed to hold it in. "The reapers are moving in on the Hanar homeworld of Kahje. They're going to need assistance in a few days."

"We can deal with that." I volunteered. "I'll get eyes on the situation after Rannoch and figure out a way to get them out of there."

"Very well." The Shadow Broker answered. I noticed a slight inflection in the modulated tone that told me Liara was smiling behind her terminal.

"Then our business is concluded." Admiral Hackett said. His channel disappeared and I had yet another request to contact. Two, in fact. So, I stayed on the line until Liara and Shepard were the only others left.

"Much better." Liara said, using her real voice.

"Uh...your modulator's broken." Shepard pointed out.

"What?" Liara asked, "No, the Colonel already knows my little secret."

"Oh."

"So what did you want to speak about?" I asked, "Rannoch, I assume?"

"Yes." Shepard answered. "And I wanted to let you know I regret the loss of your men."

"Yeah." I muttered, my thoughts finally being dragged to April.

"Were they close to you?" Liara asked.

"Yes." I answered quietly. "Yes, one was."

My silence or something in my voice must've been out of place, because Shepard suddenly decided it was story-time.

"You know," She said, "When I was hunting Saren, We had a mission on Virmire. Ever heard of it?"

"We were down in Virmire earlier in the invasion." I said.

"Well, there was a particular officer that I was...let's just say I wasn't anymore fond of him than anyone else, but that didn't change what happened." She started. I didn't know where she was going with this and quite honestly, I didn't particularly care. "Anyways, I split my team. I sent Ashley, the same newly-minted Spectre that Hackett mentioned, down with a salarian STG team to distract the geth forces so we could sneak in."

_I need to fix myself a drink. _I thought to myself, reaching into my drawer to do exactly that.

"We set up a nuke in his main facility and I left Lieutenant Alenko behind to arm the nuke while we moved to an AA tower to rescue Ash." She continued. I was surprised Liara hadn't cut in to stop her. "We were halfway there when Sovereign and Saren came back to the nuke. I made a choice to save Ash and the dozen or so STG guys up there. Kaidan armed the nuke and held Saren off long enough that Saren was forced to flee."

I stopped my movement, surprised by the admission. I stared at the monitor, waiting to hear the rest.

"I left a comrade, a good man, to die." She said, "So I could save eleven more people. Eleven. I constantly have to ask myself if it's worth it."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"Because I know that tone." She said. "It's the same one I had after it happened."

I sat back in my chair, just absorbing what she said. It was odd, talking about the loss of people close to me with a woman who was quite possibly a better warrior than I was, though not quite the tactician.

"Her name was April." I finally said, not really caring if Liara heard. "I've been in a very bad state, recently. I'm sure you heard I've got a bunch of cybernetics stuck in me, just like you. I've had to do some terrible things and on top of that I've found out that I'm being indoctrinated."

I heard a gasp that identified itself as Liara.

"I know." I muttered. "And I'm supposed to be leading all these damn people. Anyways, April. She had a husband on Palaven at the start of the war and I think...I don't know if I was a replacement in her eyes or what, but it would've been nice. Now I'm right back to before that, except it's worse because she's gone and the reapers are doing their best to turn me into their personal slave."

There was a long silence after that, then Shepard said,

"I'd tell you that it'd be best not to dwell on the deaths, but I do." Shepard said. "Kaidan, Thane, Mordin."

"I'd raise my glass in a toast, but you're all the way over there." I chuckled.

"Well," Shepard said, "We might stick around for a bit after Rannoch, we can share a drink there. And with Gerrard. I haven't forgotten what my brother and I owe him. Anyways, down to business. How long do you think it'll take the quarian Marines to get out here?"

"Not long." I told her. I glanced up when I heard the door open and saw Allison come through. Behind her I could spot Lena, who was standing outside my door the same way Henry had before Oltan. Allison stopped in front of my desk, waiting. "We'll strike with the Third Fleet first and hold the Marines back in a nearby system. When you deal with the Reaper signal, I'll have the Third Fleet disengage and bring in the Marines before the Flotilla or Geth forces can interfere."

"Alright." She said.

"I'll fly the Kodiak down with myself and two of my teammates in case you need any cover." I told her. I held a delaying hand out to Allison.

"It'll be good to have you all watching my back again." She said.

"I'll see you down there."

I cut the channel and looked up at Allison.

"We've been loitering around for the last two hours." She complained, "Do we have a heading?"

"We do." I told her. "We're going down to Rannoch. I saw Lena out there, best get her in here, I'm sure she'll want to know first."

"Yeah." She answered, standing there a little longer. I wasn't sure why she was still standing there. I noticed she had a small frown on her face, her brow drawn down as she watched me. "I...How're you doing, Boss?"

"Better." I answered honestly.

"Yeah." She said sarcastically, gesturing to the drink in my hand. "So I see."

"I know, Allison." I told her. "Just...everything is going well from an operation standpoint. That's good enough for me."

"I know shit's bad right now." She said, taking a seat across from my desk, "But look at all you've been through. You're the toughest goddamn person I've ever met and there is not one person in this galaxy I would trust my life to more."

"Maybe." I muttered mutinously. I had no idea why I was telling her all this, but I felt like I had to tell somebody what was wrong. Anybody. "It spoke to me, you know. Harbinger."

"The reaper did?" she asked, her green eyes going wide. "You mentioned something earlier, but it literally spoke to you?"

"It wants me to be its General. Underling. Whatever"

She looked horrified.

_As she damn well should. _I reasoned. _She knows I'm being indoctrinated and the last thing anyone would want to hear is that I had a reaper mentally assault me._

"I thought about giving up." I admitted. "About putting Henry in charge and calling it quits. Harbinger wants me, Allison. He wants me to become like them."

"Well, you can't call it quits." Allison reasoned. "Harbinger would take you."

"No it wouldn't." I assured her. "I'd make sure of that."

"The only way Harbinger wouldn't is if you were de-"

She stopped talking and stared at me, the stare full of judgement and mistrust.

"Exactly."

_Even since then, I've thought about it. _I thought to myself. _Henry takes over and I go somewhere quiet. Somewhere peaceful. Maybe Virmire. Then...just end it. Harbinger doesn't get me and I know that the galaxy will be in safe hands._

"It'd be better than the alternative." I muttered. "And look at me."

I raised the cybernetic hand to prove my point. Blue veins glowed softly within the metallic construct and I flexed the hideous damn thing.

"How hard would it be, at this point?" I wondered. "People are terrified of me on sight. I'm so close to a reaper, I had a krogan bouncer stick a shotgun in the back of my neck on the Citadel because he thought I was one of them."

I stared at the hand, disgusted with myself.

Allison reached over and apparently there was enough sensation still left in the remnants of my hand that I could feel the warmth of her fingers as she curled them around mine and gently pulled the hand back down to the desk.

I stared at her across the desk, unsure of what to make of the sudden gesture as she kept a hold on my hand. I didn't know if it was a human gesture or if it was something completely different.

I felt something, then, that I could quite categorize. It hadn't been something I'd felt with anyone in a long time. Not since-

_Krylin._

"Some people still care for you, Boss." She whispered, her voice quiet but easy for me to make out in the silent room. The words seemed hesitant, measured. It sounded as if she were nervous about saying what she had to say. "Some of us have for a long time."

I felt her thumb rub on my wrist as I looked into her emerald eyes. A small smile grew over her bronzed face.

"I wouldn't want to see you gone." She admitted quietly, still staring into my eyes. "I'd miss you."

_Does she mean-_

"I'm hearing that we're going to Rannoch." Lena said, walking into the room. Allison's hand stealthily withdrew from mine and I had no idea if Lena had caught it or not. If she did, she didn't give any sign (Not that I'd be able to see it, anyways). "Admiral Tali'Zorah gave me a heads up."

"Yes." I replied, managing to recover from the awkward moment. "I was just telling Allison that we're headed there."

"I'll um...I'll get started down that way as soon as the Third Fleet's ready." She said, standing up and edging around Lena.

"Please do." I told her. "And thanks."

"No problem, Roluck." She said with another smile before disappearing down the hall. Lena watched her go, then looked back at me.

"Were you on the shift watching me this time?" I asked.

"Half hour shifts." She answered with a shrug. "The crew and the team are more than willing to do it to keep you at our helm."

"Thanks." I muttered, more than a little embarrassed about the need for guard duty. "I hate all this."

"You know," She replied, crossing her arms and leaning up against the frame of the door, "In all the time I've been on this ship I don't think I've ever heard her use your name."

"She was showing some friendly concern." I explained.

"Mmm-hmm." She agreed in a tone that told me she wasn't buying it.

"You saw it, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." She replied loftily. "Anyways, we were discussing a plan to take back my home world?"

"Not take back, exactly." I said. "This is going to take the work of some rather forceful diplomacy."

"My favorite type." Lena agreed. "What do you have in mind?"

"Simple." I told her. "The Flotilla is entangled with the geth armada. We fly the flotilla out and bring the Third Fleet in. While they keep the armada busy, Shepard will knock out the reaper signal with me and two others in the Kodiak on assist."

"Do you want Lia'Vael?" She asked.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea." I admitted.

"Lia'Vael, you can come in." Lena said loudly. The pilot stepped into the room, looking the slightest bit ill-at-ease.

_How the hell did she know we'd need a Kodiak pilot?_

"Captain." she acknowledged with a nod.

"Good job on that last op, Lia." I told her. "That was a tough extraction, but you pulled it off."

"Thank you, Captain." She said, "And I'm sorry about Nesk and April. Nesk was really helpful and April was one of the nicest people I ever met."

"Yeah." I muttered. "Yeah she was."

"So diplomacy?" Lena said, having the courage to drag me out of the hole Lia had almost just put me in.

"Yes." I continued. "I want your Marines. All of them."

"And you want to insert them onto Rannoch." She said, catching on.

"How do you know that, Admiral?" Lia asked, surprised.

"I know how he thinks." Lena admitted. "Roluck, you want them there as leverage. With the Marines on the ground, the Flotilla would be extremely hesitant to engage Reaper forces and risk friendly fire. And it would sway popular opinion if there were already quarians co-existing with geth on the surface."

"Exactly." I told her. "I want you to coordinate with Zent'Alaar and have him stand by with the troops in a nearby system. Soon as Shepard brings the signal down, we'll have the Third Fleet clear out and land the forces _peacefully _on Rannoch in a clear gesture of goodwill."

"Without a fleet there, there'd be nobody to protect my Marines should the geth decide to bombard them."

"My people have a saying, Lena." I told her. "Don't say you'd fuck a varren unless you're willing to fuck a varren. You say the geth want to treat with the quarians and now is your chance to prove it."

There was a silence as Lena thought and Lia fidgeted anxiously next to her.

"I can do that." she answered with a nod. "And your people have terrible sayings."

"That we do." I told her. "Now, once all that is done and assuming the geth are open to it, I'll have the flotilla roll in a nearby system and have someone address them and tell them the geth are playing nice."

I already knew she wanted nothing more than to come back to the Flotilla and victoriously rub the faces of the Admiralty Board in the peace she'd brokered after they'd refused peace and tried to kill her. I saw her body language shift from 'thoughtful' to 'eager'.

"I'm in." She said with a nod. "Lia, go meet up with Captain Gerrard and see if there's any work that needs to be done on the Kodiak. I'll be down to help in a few minutes, after I make some calls."

The young quarian left the room, her body language informing me that she was eager to be included in this plan.

"I'm thinking of taking you and Henry with me." I told her. "Enua and Krieg are both going to be down for this mission, with the wounds they sustained. Barin and Ilna will keep up security on the ship, should the worst happen."

"Sounds good." She said, turning towards the door. "I'll start coordinating my Marines."

"Good." I told her, looking down at my monitor, "I have some calls to make, as well."

"And Roluck?"

I looked back up at her curiously. The quarian woman looked amused and relieved, judging from her body language.

"It's about damn time." She said.

I shook my head, not quite sure what she meant as I looked back down at my terminal.

_**For the record, Sparatus was my favorite of the Councilors. Whereas Admiral Gerrel went from the guy you loved in the second one to the guy you despised in the third one (And Koris the other way around), Sparatus was the opposite. Seemed to be the only Councilor genuinely interested in helping.**_

_**Speaking of which, what was up with that? Udina (Until the coup), Sparatus, Khalisa (The reporter), Koris (though to be fair, you find out he's actually kind of a good guy in the second one if you talk to him during the trial), even what's his name that was your biggest fan used all of his money to smuggle his orphanage to the Citadel. Everyone who was a giant douche in the first two was suddenly the kinda-sorta good guy in the third one.**_

_**STT Zeta:**_  
_**Colonel Roluck Vether - Turian, Blackwatch**_  
_**Captain Henry Gerrard - Human, Alliance Marines**_  
_**First Sergeant Barin Pazin - Batarian, Hegemony Army**_  
_**Ilna Ulere - Human, Contracted**_  
_**Urre Imun - Salarian, GNN Combat Reporter**_  
_**Enua Ira - Asari, Spectre**_

_**Vengeance Crew:**_  
_**Staff Sergeant Allison Shields - Helmswoman**_  
_**Doctor Aulra Aline - Chief Medical Officer**_  
_**Lia'Vael - Quarian, Shuttle Pilot**_  
_**Humans - Armor and Subsystems Crew (Led by Gunnery Sergeant Alan Kala)**_  
_**Quarians - Engineer Crew (Led by Risha'Zun vas Vengeance)**_  
_**Turians - Shield and Weapons Crew (Led by Staff Sergeant Valin)**_  
_**Asari - Navigation Team (Led by Staff Sergeant Allison Shields)**_  
_**Salarians - Medical Team (Led by Doctor Aulra Aline)**_


	89. Chapter 89

I stepped into the Kodiak and took my place at one of the guns as Lia'Vael slid into the pilot's chair. She looked back at me, then at Lena, who sat at the other turret. In the co-pilot's seat was Henry, who Risha tossed a glance at before getting back to the controls.

Everything had gone as smooth as I could ask for. The Third Fleet had reinforced the Flotilla, allowing the quarian ships to limp away into a nearby system. When the salarian fleet disengaged, I planned to have them form a screen at the side of the geth armada to stop the flotilla from shooting at them upon re-entry into the system.

"We'll be down there in one minute, Roluck" Allison reported.

"Did she just use his name for the first time...ever?" Henry wondered aloud from my left.

"That's weird, huh?" Lena asked. I looked back to see her shooting me a look that had to be mischievous.

I mumbled something decidedly murderous as Lia started up the Kodiak.

"She's implying something, isn't she?" Urre asked from behind me, the salarian reporter wedged in the seat between Lena and I.

"How's the fleet doing?" I asked, ignoring them.

"They're fine." Allison reported, "They're doing their 'sensation overload' thing on the geth. It's working, for the moment."

"Good." I muttered as the bay door began to open and I looked upon Rannoch.

The planet was beautiful in its own way, from what I could see. The land before us was slightly arid, with long stretched of overgrown rock bordered by a coastline of rocky beaches that led to a beautiful, crystalline-colored ocean.

"I can't believe I'm here." I heard Lia'Vael say up front. She sounded awed.

_I'm the first turian to set foot here in centuries. _I realized.

It was a revelation that made me smile. I looked back at Lena and saw her hands off of the turret controls, just watching the ocean pass by.

"Can't believe we're doing this." I heard her say. "For three hundred years, we've wanted nothing more than our home back."

"You were talking about building a home here, right?" I asked.

"We were." Henry agreed. I noticed a look go between him and Lena. I had the feeling this was something they had discussed before.

"Hey, hey." I said, drawing their attention, "Stay focused."

They looked away and I saw Urre smirk as I turned back to my turret.

Off in the distance was a big facility, standing stark against the skyline. It was an ugly sore spot on the landscape, a construction of walkways and pipes with one large dome off to one side. I imagined that was where the signal was emanating from.

I could see a Kodiak departing the area, undoubtedly the shuttle for Shepard and her team. Sure enough, when I squinted, I was just able to make out three forms that were already engaging a swarm of geth making their way across a field towards them. Lia sped up, managing to work the speed so that we slowed just as we passed the group, flanking the group of geth.

Shepard was up front and I had to admit she looked a little worse for the wear. The red spidery lines of her cybernetics were starting to show even from fifteen feet up. I couldn't help but draw the similarity between her cybernetics and mine, though mine were more extensive.

Her brother looked just as worn and haggard, but even as I watched, he grabbed a geth and pulled it over his cover before tearing its head off. I never thought I'd meet a human the size (and strength) of a krogan, but Cerberus had made a pretty good shot trying to make one.

Garrus stood next to the Commander, the scarred turian firing a Vindicator with excellent precision that neared my own.

There was a third member there, this one a quarian. She was about the same size as Lena, with an intricate purple and black suit. Gold bands stretched across it in some areas and she was wielding a shotgun of some type. As I watched, she put down two geth in the space of three seconds with it, displaying skill I was used to seeing on my own team.

"Is that Tali'Zorah?" I heard Lia ask behind me.

"Yes." Lena replied. "She's not quite me, but she can certainly earn her number of kills."

I opened up on the geth without preamble, the bigger rounds of the turret tearing right through the shields of the geth and tearing them to pieces. A few, realizing they were flanked by air support, tried to get up and regroup somewhere further back with better cover, but Shepard and her team mowed them down.

"This is Colonel Vether." I reported, picking up Shepard's communications line, "Ready to render assistance."

I saw Shepard glance up at me and smile.

"Good to see you back, Colonel." She said, "Is Gerrard up there?"

"Yes I am." Henry replied, opening his door and waving.

"Good." John Shepard grunted, the cruiser-sized human sounding annoyed, "I have a few drinks to buy you and I hate being in debt."

"I'm right here with you, Tali." Lena said over the line.

"Lena?" Came the other Admiral's voice. It was slightly more high-pitched than Lena's. "Is that really you?"

"Yes it is." She said, "I'm trying out my unique brand of diplomacy."

"So I see." Tali replied, sounding extremely amused. "The same kind of diplomacy that has the Admiralty Board scared to death of you."

"Not to break this up," Garrus said, "But we've kinda got to get moving."

"We'll cover you where we can." I told Shepard as they moved towards an outcropping of pipes. We moved ahead to see a group of geth trying to create a defensive position ahead of them. Henry hefted his assault rifle next to me as I began to fire. I put down a pair of geth trying to lift a barricade into place with a spray of rounds that nearly cut them off at the waist. I saw a pair drop next to them as Henry put a round in each of their 'heads'.

"Feel familiar!?" I yelled.

"Like Eden Prime." Henry grunted.

"You were on Eden Prime?" Shepard asked as the team traversed the barricade. We moved on ahead to a two-tiered area, where I could see another group of geth start to form. Shepard and her team put down a few geth on the way as we moved towards the pocket of resistance.

"I was." Henry confirmed. "I was a Sergeant in the 212 when they got hit. I was the only other survivor between Gunnery Chief Williams."

"She's a Lieutenant-Commander, now." Shepard said casually as Henry and I opened fire on the geth. I heard a pistol next to me and saw Lena firing to my right. Apparently, she'd gotten tired of waiting. Between the three of us, the six geth in the area were brought down. "A Spectre, believe it or not."

"No shit?" Henry asked. "Woah!"

I saw a geth with a rocket launcher and felt a pull as Lia pulled the shuttle away from the structure. I grabbed Lena by the shoulder before she could fall and with a hiss and a plume of white smoke, a missile sailed past the shuttle.

"Nice dodge, Lia." I said as Henry fired a trio of rounds at the geth, making sure it was down. I let go of Lena, who nodded to me in thanks.

"Thanks." She muttered.

"They should be somewhat clear until they get to the dome." Henry said. "It's...closing?"

"Dammit, no!" Shepard yelled angrily, "We can't shoot through that!"

"Shepard-Commander." I heard a robotic voice report over the line.

_What the hell?_

"There is a control further up the structure where the dome can be retracted. There should be a vantage point to fire the laser-guided system in the vicinity of the controls."

"On my way." she grumbled angrily.

"Legion, is that you?" I heard Lena ask. I started in surprise, then remembered her story about how she'd spoken to a geth when she'd come down to Rannoch during the two year hiatus.

_This must be the same one._

"It is beneficial to exchange data again, Creator Zuril." The geth answered. "Our exchange two years ago was a most interesting one."

"I'm sorry I couldn't get them to listen." she said as she went back to her turret. Lia started to hover us over the long walk around part of the dome, where geth were starting to spill out.

"What are you two talking about?" Tali wondered, seeming slightly angry.

"We exchanged data when Creator Zuril visited Rannoch two years ago on a clandestine mission." Legion answered, "This is before we met, Shepard-Commander. Creator Zuril was willing to advocate diplomacy over violence, a rare change in attitude from our usual exchanges. You are blameless for the Creators' decision, Creator Zuril. Should this conflict be resolved, you will be welcomed in high esteem amongst the geth."

"I..." Lena started, sounding choked up as she mowed down a wave of geth with her turret, allowing Shepard's team to pass. They disappeared into a network of closed off hallways and pipes and elevators.

"We can't cover you from out here." Roluck warned Shepard.

"It's not looking like we have a long ways to go." Shepard said.

We waited tensely for a few minutes, until the dome started to open up.

"Looks like some sort of antenna." I said, looking down into the massive pit and spotting only a couple of antenna arrays. "It-"

"Colonel!" Urre yelled behind me, getting my attention.

"What?" I asked, looking back at the combat reporter. The whole Kodiak was staring at the salarian.

"Where else have you seen that antenna?" He asked.

_Now that he mentioned it, that does seem familiar. _I thought to myself. _Where did I see th-_

"Oh shit." I said, my eyes widening. "Shepard, I don't know who you've got standing by to destroy that, but that's a Destroyer down there."

As soon as I finished my rushed transmission, that bass roaring sounded from down below us. The one we'd all heard way too many times. My head suddenly felt like it was about to split in two and I groaned, bracing myself against the turret.

"Get us out of here, Lia!" Lena yelled. The Kodiak listed to the left as a claw jammed itself into the ground around the perimeter of the pit, preparing to climb out.

"Firing!" Shepard yelled. I saw some sort of laser designator narrow in on the Reaper, then a ship that looked a lot like ours' swooped in, firing power Thanix Cannons at the reaper. The destroyer seemed unaffected, letting out that deep groan again. I heard a yell and looked up just in time to see Shepard topple from a fifteen foot drop and hit the ground bodily.

_No!_

I felt immense relief as she pushed herself up and her two comrades jumped down to her side.

"We've gotta go!" I yelled. Shepard looked at me, then at the destroyer.

"We have located a vehicle." I heard Legion say over comms. Shepard started running below us and three Primes emerged from the structure behind them.

"Take em down!" I yelled past my headache. Lia fired full-auto at the Primes, slowing them as Shepard, Garrus and Tali pulled themselves into some sort of geth land vehicle.

"Get u-"

The Kodiak shook and a beam of red flashed across the front of the Kodiak. Lia screamed, pulling the controls back and listing us backwards. I heard everyone shouting in panic as we slammed into the side of the structure with a jolt. The world turned blurry as we spun, with me holding onto the turret for dear life. With a jarring crash, we hit the ground and slid until we came to rest against a cliff face.

"-ether!" I heard Shepard yelling in my ear, "Are you all alright?!"

"Yeah." I groaned, pushing myself off from the turret. I looked around to see everybody moving and taking stock of themselves. I looked out to see the destroyer chasing the geth vehicle that Shepard and her crew had appropriated. "Don't worry about us, just keep going."

"We need your help!" She yelled, "Who's the Admiral up there?"

"I'll patch him in." I muttered, shaking my head as Risha and Lena jumped out and started checking one of the panels near the engines.

I played around with the comms channels until I found Admiral Torren and I patched him into my channel.

"I'm a little busy here, Colonel." Admiral Torren said.

"We just crashed after a destroyer nearly shot us out of the air." I said, "I don't want to hear 'busy'."

"What do you need?" He asked, sounding a bit mollified.

"Shepard?"

"Sir," Shepard started, "I need the Third Fleet to be prepared to fire on my designated target."

"We can't spare much firepower until you kill the signal." Admiral Torren countered.

"The destroyer _is _the signal." Shepard retorted. "If we don't knock it out, then we came down here for nothing and the geth stay under the control of the Reapers."

There was a silence, then:

"We're going to lose a couple ships over this." He said, "I'm ordering secondary ships on the flanks to pull in and provide support."

"Thank y-" She started, but I saw the reaper land a very close shot that sent the tank flying. It flipped end over end before landing in a heap near a cliff that faced the destroyer head on.

"Shepard!" I yelled in anger.

_We need to get over there, now._

"Lena!"

"We're good, we fixed it." She said, jumping into the turret as Lia darted into the pilot's seat. We took off and I looked at Lena.

"Have your Marines drop in on our position in two minutes." I ordered her. "Make sure they do not engage or lock on any geth forces on the way in unless fired upon first."

"I will." She said, closing the door and starting to mess with her omni-tool.

"Henry, switch with me." I ordered, "Hurry."

He moved towards my seat and I managed to edge past him and squeeze myself into the passenger''s seat. Urre came up behind me to take video of the fight in front of us as Henry closed the door.

"There." I said, pointing.

The tank was a wreck, with Tali and Garrus struggling weakly to get up as a heavily-damaged geth lay on the ground next to them. Somehow, it looked like the explosion had tore a hole right through the geth. Shepard was further on up the cliff with some sort of strange-looking weapon that _had _to be the lase designator.

She was fumbling with it, though, probably a little disoriented from the crash. The destroyer had opened its 'eye' and red energy was starting to collect around the eye.

It was about to kill her.

"Lia!" I ordered, "Shoot the eye, now!"

I felt myself pulled back slightly as the quarian woman sped forward and started firing the dual machineguns of the Kodiak at the destroyer's eye. It didn't appear to inflict damage, but as the reaper stopped and glared up at us, I realized that it had been enough to distract it.

As we flipped around for another pass, I saw the destroyer looking up at us, now, preparing to fire its beam. I had no idea if Lia'Vael would be able to dodge it in time.

And I never had to find out.

A slug came in straight from the sky, the round accelerating so fast that it appeared to be on fire as it slammed directly into the reaper's eye, knocking it back. This round was followed by dozens more, as the destroyer stumbled around, taking hit after hit to its vulnerable spot. There was mechanical screeching and the whining of servos as the destroyer stumbled around, each hit seeming to drain its life a little more.

After the barrage was finished, the destroyer lay in a heap, circuitry sparking in some areas and smoking in others. The red eye had faded to a point and seemed to be fading further than that.

I sighed and sat back in my seat.

"Admiral Torren, disengage." I ordered him. "And shield the geth fleet from the quarians, should the Flotilla try to take advantage of the situation."

"I don't like this." Admiral Torren muttered.

"I love you guys." Comander Shepard said, panting. I looked down to see her joined by Tali and Garrus. The geth, Legion, was approaching them.

"The geth...are disengaging?" Admiral Torren said, surprise thick in his voice.

"Lena, how far out are the Marines?" I asked.

"They're in orbit." she said, "They should be here in less than one minute."

I nodded, content that everything seemed to be going good, even if the mission had been a hell of a disorganized scramble.

"Land us down near them, Lia." I ordered. The young quarian nodded, directing the Kodiak down. "That was very well done."

When we hit the ground, I jumped out of the Kodiak and was joined by the rest of the crew. I looked up towards the afternoon skyline to see dozens of quarian transports headed our way, still miles out. I looked back at Shepard and her group just in time to see Legion suddenly crumple, landing in a heap of scrap and electronics. I didn't need to be close to know that it was dead.

"What the hell?!" I yelled, jogging up to the group. They all turned to greet me. "What the hell just happened?"

"It sacrificed itself." Tali, the other quarian Admiral, whispered. "It sacrificed itself to give every geth the intelligence it had."

I felt stunned. I knew how the geth worked, from before Sovereign was defeated. It would take hundreds of them pooled together to be as smart as Legion. If they were all as smart as Legion, they'd know that I'd just handed them tens of thousands of hostages.

"Shit!" I yelled, drawing glances from the group, "I have the Marines landing now. They might try to take us all captive t-"

As ships landed around us, a geth prime caught my eye, headed towards the group. I drew my SMG, the Tempest unwavering as I tracked the movement. Around me, everyone else brought their weapons up. The Prime stopped before us, seeming unconcerned about the weapons.

"Are there any injuries?" The prime asked, looking around at us all, "Is any assistance required?"

I lowered my weapon, feeling my mandibles lifting upwards in a smile.

"This is Admiral Torren." The salarian Admiral reported over my comms, "We've got the Flotilla here and we're going to begin escorting them down to ensure they don't try to shoot anyone. Is everything alright down there?"

"Yeah." I answered, "I think we're going to be just fine, Admiral."

I looked around to see the quarian Marines disembarking from their ships, in the valley below us and on the elevated plateaus above us. Unarmed geth waited at each ship and when the Marines came out, they came out with weapons bared. However, at each ship, seeing the geth standing down, the Marines simply put their weapons away and looked to their leaders in askance.

"This is incredible." I heard Lena say behind me, her voice sounding slightly different. I looked behind me to see her with her mask and hood off. Her pale purple skin and thin lines of cybernetics seemed to glisten a little in the sunlight and her silvery eyes looked over the landscape as a small smile reached her face. Her long black hair was blowing out behind her as the rest of the team looked at her in shock.

"You getting this, Urre?" I asked, looking at the reporter. He looked as thoguh he was about to die from surprise. "You might not get to see this again."

"So that's what they look like." Shepard muttered. I heard Garrus swearing softly under his breath and Lia's eyes looked really wide.

"It's okay." Lena said quietly, looking at Lia, "There's no disease here. You'll be fine for a minute or two."

I saw the young woman pull her mask off, as well. Her face was a lot more angular than Lena's and her hair was shorter and much more straight. Her silver eyes were wide in awe as she finally got to look around without a mask getting between her and the air. She inhaled through her small nose and grinned.

"I can't believe it." She murmured, sounding dazed. "Rannoch."

"It is hard to believe." Tali said from behind us. The woman had disengaged just her mask, probably a little more careful about her health than Lena. Still, her face was similar to Lena's. If a little softer. I noticed she had her curled around Staff Sergeant Shepard's.

"Admiral?" I heard a nasally male voice call from behind us.

We all turned to see four quarians headed our way, their exotic suits informing me that they had to be Admirals of some sort.

"We did it, Koris." Lena said, looking blissfully lost. "We did it. Just the way you and I hoped."

The Admirals seemed wary of the geth prime, who had been watching the proceedings without comment.

"There are several sites where your ships can land." The prime finally spoke. "There are many settlements we have kept in good condition that we can put the Creators on, if you'll accept the land."

"We...we will." An older female quarian said. They were all staring at Admiral Lena'Zuril, who was watching the nearby ocean with a serene look on her face.

"You did all this, Admirals." Another Admiral said, this one with a rougher voice than the others as he indicated Tali and Lena. I noticed a faint snarl make its way across Shepard's face, but she let it pass. "You brought us our homeworld back, peacefully."

"We didn't do it alone, Admirals." Tali reminded them, "We had the Third Fleet, STT Zeta, John, Jane and Garrus."

She looked down at the geth at their feet.

"And Legion."

"Its sacrifice will be honored." The prime assured us.

I looked up to the sky to see the Third Fleet incoming, the sleek salarian ships joined by the ragged-looking Flotilla. They were starting to disperse, being guided to separate locations by the bulbous geth vessels.

"Well," Said a familiar male voice, "I knew it'd be interesting when we followed you off the Flotilla, Admiral, but I had no idea."

I turned to see Zent'Alaar standing there, an entire platoon behind him. The bigger quarian had his arms crossed and was staring around at the landscape before him. He had his mask off as well, his pale violet face framed by a dark beard and long black hair. I saw the smallest smile on his face as he looked around.

"Commander." The prime said, "We will begin readying our fleets immediately. You will have the full support of the geth behind you."

"And you will have our ships." One of the Admirals from earlier said, her voice strong, "While Zeta takes our Marines."

"Thank you, Admiral." I said, feeling a smile approaching my face again.

"There's a settlement nearby, should you desire to rest." The prime replied.

"Right there." Henry muttered, seeming oblivious to all of us as he looked at Lena. The quarian woman looked at him, smiling widely but seeming a little confused as to what he was talking about. He pointed to a spot near the coast, that had a large level clearing overlooking the ocean.

"Right there what?" She asked, her voice soft.

"You always talked about living on the beach." He said, "There's a settlement nearby and a beach right th-"

He was cut off when Lena grabbed him and embraced him tight. I saw the slight shimmer of tears as she cried with joy. She was never usually that emotional, but a lot of incredible things had happened so quickly, even I had to admit that I was feeling a slight surge of hope.

Her lips found his and they stood there uncaring as everyone looked on. I heard gasps from the Admirals, as well as from Garrus and Jane, though I couldn't help but notice that Tali and John had nothing to say.

_Could they just...pick a time when somebody's not watching? _I wondered, _Just once?_

When they...disengaged, they looked back out at the ocean as silence descended upon the group.

"Please stay the night." Admiral Koris said, "We would be honored for Zeta, Torren and Shepard to join us in our celebrations."

I looked at Shepard and noticed a smile tugging at her features when she looked back. I gave a shrug.

"We've got some spare time." I told him, "And we could use some time off."

"As could we." Shepard replied.

"Then it's settled." The last Admiral, who hadn't spoken before this, said. Her voice sounded very...measured. I'd almost describe it as 'clever'.

"Hey Allison?" I said, opening a comms channel with her.

"What do you need, Roluck?"

"Land the ship." I ordered her, "We're having a party, tonight."

_**Just for a heads up, I am planning on working the Citadel DLC into the story (in a way) in a while.**_ _**It'll be lighthearted, since they'll be fresh off their second major battle at that point and things have been kind of grim.**_ **_They'll have their own fun little thing, but it won't involve the Shep storyline. Though I may work them into the party at the end, for fun._**


	90. Chapter 90

"I would like to thank Commander Shepard and her crew, STT Zeta and the Salarian Third Fleet for their efforts, today." Koris was saying, the older quarian still sounding absolutely floored that he was standing on his home planet, "Their dedication and willingness to take the risks led not only to the death of another reaper, but allowed us to finally put our differences aside with the geth and set foot on Rannoch for the first time in three hundred years!"

There was cheering throughout the crowd, which I joined in. We had a special table set up for us and Commander Shepard. At my behest, Admiral Torren and his slice of the Third Fleet that had fought in orbit had brought their provisions down and joined us. Even now, the thousands of salarians were seated on the ground around the giant outdoor banquet we'd set up outside the settlement. They were estatic to be here, pleased for the rest and to be a part of history.

Around us were a full thousand of the most high ranking quarians, most of them military. Zent'Alaar had elected to sit with his personal platoon and was watching the proceedings with a smile. I would've never thought that the hardline quarian would smile, but he was now.

Lena's mother and father were there, both of them flanking their daughter. Even with their masks on, their bodies conveyed their pride.

The geth were also present, most of them primes. They hadn't uttered a single word throughout the proceedings, but I got the feeling they were pleased to be here as well.

"I would specifically like to thank Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch and Lena'Zuril vas Rannoch." Koris continued. Tali was willing to lay her life down to ensure we all got the chance to be here-"

There was cheering throughout the crowd of quarians for the young quarian woman, who blushed furiously next to Shepard at the attention she was receiving. From what I understood, she was one of the most beloved Admirals the Flotilla had ever seen.

I had been surprised to find out that Lena had been very unpopular, her constant absence making her unable to defend herself against the slander that had been spread against her by the Admirals opposing her. Only now, with the Admiralty Board more or less dissolved and a government being set up, was word starting to spread of her actual part in the events surrounding the geth-quarian struggle for the last three years. The consensus was that everyone absolutely adored her tough approach to the galaxy and her refusal to play politics at the expense of others.

"And of course, General Lena'Zuril vas Rannoch." Koris continued. Ever since the landing, the quarians seemed to realize that havng an Admiral in charge of the Marines was downright silly, now that they had a planet. So they had changed her designation. She had been honored that they were willing to let her keep her post after the stunt she'd pulled.

The applause for her was even harder than Tali's. I joined in happily and Lena seemed to go completely stone-faced, not sure what to make of the attention.

"She defied the Admiralty Board and tore her Marines away from the fleet." Koris said, "Giving her, Colonel Vether and Commander Shepard enough time to come up with a way to resolve this long-standing conflict. Her courage will be noted in our history."

There was another round of applause as every quarian looked at the meal before them and realized it was about time to eat. I had no idea where the Flotilla gotten the food so fast, but they'd pulled it off.

Of note was the fact that ever since the Admiralty Board had been resolved, there seemed to be a few people missing. Admiral Raan, Admiral Gerrel and Admiral Xen apparently weren't invited and I had the feeling that they wouldn't be living a luxurious life for the rest of their years.

"Now," Admiral Koris said, "Let us feast for the quarian and the geth. For Shepard and Vether. For Lena'Zuril and Tali'Zorah. And for Legion."

With that, everybody started to dig in. I'd been provided a full meal, which had been a very pleasant surprise. Everybody involved had gotten a meal of their own.

Allison, though I had no idea if it was intentional or not, had been seated across from me. Next to her was Lena and next to me was Henry. On my other side, much to my displeasure, was Garrus. Across from him was Shepard.

"So number two." I started, looking at the battle-scarred turian, "You ever hear about your father and sister?"

Garrus visibly bristled at my name for him, but I saw his mandibles rise up.

"They made it off Palaven." He said, "Took a long time to get in contact with them. Father's got a leg injury, but he's alive."

"That's good." I replied.

"I heard about your brother." Garrus said, "Sorry."

"I'll miss him." I said, "Even despite how much of a pain in the ass he was, I'll miss him."

"I know the feeling." He agreed. "So now that you and Jane have matching cybernetics, are you going to get matching tattoos, as well?"

"C'mon, Garrus." Shepard said, "Leave the guy alone."

"Wha-" He started, looking crestfallen, "We see each other in the first time in nine months and you want me to lay off on him?"

"Hey, Ugly." Allison said, gaining the surprised attention of Garrus, "I get it. It's rough to do all you have and have to be seated on second, I know. But it'll be okay. At least you weren't last."

Liara, who sat a little ways down, was giggling incessantly. I was pretty sure she was drunk, but I didn't begrudge it. This was a night to let loose.

_And I've had a few as well, so I can't judge._

I looked down at my meal.

"You know." I told Garrus, "After a few more drinks and when I'm done eating, we can settle this."

"Really?" Garrus said, drawing the word out.

Turians were a very militaristic culture, something that my crew typically forgot. If there was something that every turian of all walks of life loved, it was a good sparring match. Lena was looking at me in interest, her thin dark eyebrows raised. Henry and Krieg looked mightily amused and Allison had a wicked smile on her face.

"These gatherings are peaceful, Captain." Risha pointed out. She, like every other quarian but Tali, Lena and Zent, had her mask on. As a whole, the quarians weren't ready to go without suits on Rannoch. Tali had gone through enough injuries to go without the mask. Lena was wearing only part of her suit, the novelty of going without the entire suit irresistible to her. Of course, she'd have to put it back on once we left Rannoch, but here she only wore the bands, from which it was possible to see more of her body than I think she realized.

_Or she just doesn't care._

I was surprised to note that she was a little more muscular than I would've guessed, the muscles tight and compact. I would never tell Henry, but I found her extremely attractive, even given the difference in our species.

"Oh, it's just a sparring session, Risha'Zun." I told her, taking another bite. "I'm sure there won't be blood. Well, not too much."

"Are you sure you want to do that after a few more drinks?" Garrus asked, his voice reflecting the slightest amount of concern, "Alcohol does not suit sparring."

"With him, it might." Enua said, looking like she was trying not to laugh.

"Roluck's been known to jump into combat after a few drinks." Barin admitted.

"Wait," Shepard said, directing a glare at me, "What?"

_Dammit, Barin._

"It helps me relax." I said with a shrug. "Besides, it keeps the headaches away."

"The indoctrination, right?" Shepard said. "I have no experience with that, since everyone I meet is already fully indoctrinated. I don't understand how that works."

"Pray you never do." I told her, "I get headaches. For a brief moment there, until you hit the destroyer, I couldn't think past the pain. Sometimes, I have to force myself not to lose control. I hear thoughts, on occasion. They sound like mine, but they really aren't."

"Thoughts like what?" The big Marine seated at the end of Shepard's group asked. This one I'd never heard of before, but with his fade and the tattoo on his neck, he looked to be the spitting image of the roughneck Marine.

_Lieutenant Vega, _I recalled. _That was it._

"I'd...rather not say, if you don't mind." I answered, poking at a stalk of unidentified vegetable as I took another sip of the brandy I'd brought with me. "Suffice it to say, they're all really bad ideas. And sometimes, very personal ones."

"I-" Tali started, until we were joined by another.

"Commander Zent'Alaar." I said as the quarian made his presence known behind me. "Hey, Garrus, make some room."

"That's not necessary, Co-"

"Nonsense," I cut him off, "You were part of the crew for a couple days. Sit down, catch us up."

Sullenly, the quarian Marine sat down, looking highly uncomfortable if his body language was any indicator. I noticed he was trying to keep his eyes off Lena and Tali.

"So what have you been up to since you left Zeta?" Urre asked, ever the reporter. I noticed he had a camera in hand and made a note to have him edit some things out tomorrow.

"I've been assigned under Admir-sorry, ma'am."

"It's okay, Zent." She said with a small smile. "I'm still trying to get used to it, too."

"General Lena'Zuril vas Rannoch." He continued. "She had me pulling some radical things out there, but it's clearly paid off. I've never seen more combat efficient Marines and I certainly never thought I'd see Rannoch."

"I think I've heard of you." Tali said further on down the table. "Didn't you get in a fight on the Citadel?"

"Ooh," Ilna started, eyes glittering, "I think I heard that one, too. Risha was...actually, I think it'd be better if she told the story."

All eyes went to Risha as I pushed another bit of steak into my mouth. I refilled my drink, then looked back at the quarian engineer. She fidgeted under the attention, but carried on with the conversation.

"I was grabbed by a pair of Blue Suns." She said. "Asari and turian. They dragged me into a back alley to...have their way with me. Apparently, Henry had glimpsed me being pulled back there, did a quick head count to make sure and then he and the Commander came back to rescue me."

"Yep." Henry replied, grinning. "Zent took that turian down quick. I had a little trouble with the asari woman, but Risha here managed to shoot her in the shoulder, giving me time to knock the asari out."

"Sounds like you're quite the hero." Tali said, looking at Zent'Alaar with a small smile on her face, "I knew a Marine like that. Kal'Reegar."

"He was a good Marine." Zent agreed. "It's a shame what happened to him, but he died a hero."

"Yes he did." She agreed, smiling sadly.

"Anyways, ma'am-"

"Just Tali." Tali replied.

"I'll call you whatever you want me to." Zent replied.

Henry groaned and Ilna laughed hysterically. Tali's cheeks immediately turned a darker shade of violet and she stared at the table in embarrassment. I was surprised by the usually stiff Marine's bold move in front of the whole table.

"Ouch," Vega chuckled, sounding amused. "That one literally hurt."

"You've been spending too much time with humans on Tuchunka." Henry said, "That's an old one."

First Sergeant Shepard didn't seem too amused by it, though. The hulking, massive Marine crossed his arms and glared down the other man, who visibly cringed. I'd seen enough of the human in combat to know that he'd ake apart Zent without much effort.

"I think it's adorable." Kasumi said from her end, the small human woman smiling.

She'd been excited to meet me when she got off the Normandy. She'd asked after April, which led to an answer I was getting tired of giving. She mentioned something, then. A mech up there by the name of EDI. When I'd asked about it, she'd gone silent, leading me to believe that there were things Shepard was hiding on that ship. I also noted that their pilot hadn't come down, either.

"So did I ever tell you guys about how Colonel Vether, here," Kasumi said, glancing around the table mischievously, "beat Kai Leng to a pulp when he tried to kill me on the Citadel?"

"Yes, Goto." Zaeed groaned, "We've heard it a million goddamn times."

"I haven't." Allison said.

"Yeah," Enua said, looking at me, "How come you didn't mention it? I know Henry beat him half to death-"

"Wait," Shepard said, looking angry again, "You've encountered him on two occasions and haven't killed him?"

"Didn't know who he was, the first time." I said, "Second time, he escaped. Not before Henry tried to drill a hole through the man's face with his fist."

"What happened on the Citadel?" Ilna asked eagerly.

"Well." Kasumi started, "Kai Leng had caught up to me in the Wards. I hadn't even been aware he was after me; I only knew the man by reputation. But sure enough, he got the jump on me and had me bent backwars over a crate as he strangled me. The Colonel, over there, heard the commotion and jumped in. Kai Leng tried to stab him until...what did you do, again?"

"I crushed him." I answered simply, finishing my drink.

"He used the jets on the armor he used to have," She explained with a smirk, "picked the man up and slammed him into the wall at full speed."

"Christ." Zaeed muttered, "That must've done a number."

"Well this son of a bitch-" Commander Shepard started, pointing at Henry, "Pulled a shady maneuver out on Earth."

"I heard." I said. "A terrorist attack hit a convoy that was taking you to prison. No casualties on either side."

"I still owe you those drinks." First Sergeant Shepard said, "I haven't forgotten."

"Vakarian said you have extensive cybernetic work done on ya." Zaeed said from his end, "I'm curious, how extensive?"

I sighed, before running out the specifics I'd had to recite several times before.

"A bit of it was cosmetic, as you can see." I told them. "Some of my vocal chords had to be swapped out, which you may have noticed from the slightly synthesized sound of my voice. My heart got hit hardest. Several of the arteries and the heart had been torn up, requiring clamps. Then, a piece of tech was installed to keep my heart pumping. I think they swapped out part of a lung and the rest was either cosmetic or small repairs to internal organs...My hand and half of a mandible were rebuilt, though the hand took place at a seperate incident."

"What the hell happened to you?" Lieutenant Vega asked, the big Marine curious.

"There was a Spectre on the Citadel during the attack." I told the group. "He was trying to pull the same exact shit Saren did. I went up there with a group and the Spectre jumped us. He wounded me, shot one of the oldest members of the STT and tried to kill April. Then he launched a grenade into my chest. The armor caught it, but it still exploded."

"Christ." Zaeed muttered.

"Errahe tackled the Spectre into that weird garden they have down there and Varyss was forced to flee." I continued. "Urre was the real hero, that day. I've never known a combat reporter to pick up a gun and join the fray, but he did. He damn well might've saved me from an execution."

"Thanks, Roluck." The reporter said with a smile.

"If our plan goes through." I said quietly, tiptoeing aruond the specifics and refusing to name the project, "When it does its thing, I can't be there. If I am, it will destroy the machine in my chest that keeps my heart pumping."

There was silence around the table. I looked down at my finished meal and then up at Garrus. I noticed that he had finished as well and was staring at me, clearly waiting for something.

"I think it's about that time." I told him.

"Indeed it is, Colonel." He agreed, bemused.

"Alright!" Henry yelled, catching half the assembly's attention, "Get your bets down here! We got our very own Colonel Vether against Commander Shepard's Garrus Vakarian!"

The entirety of both teams started typing on their omni-tools and Henry's omni-tool started to light up. I noticed that even Zent was putting in a bet.

"Ouch." Henry said with a smirk, looking down at his omni-tool, "Commander Shepard, no faith?"

"Wha-" Garrus said, turning on Commander Shepard. "Jane, really?"

"Sorry." She answered with a shrug, "He's really good."

"Looks like you're the underdog, Colonel." Henry said, looking up at me.

_I don't know how that happened. _

Looks were being thrown our way as Garrus and I marched past the assembly, drawing the gazes of the salarians seated nearby.

"What's going on here?" Inquired Admiral Torren.

In all my years, I would've never thought to have found a salarian I could seriously call 'distinguished'. Admiral Torren fit the bill. He was dressed in black armor with his rank emblazoned on his shoulder. He was missing part of his horn, reminding me a little too much of Errahe.

"A quick sparring session." I replied.

"Is there betting?" Another salarian asked.

"Captain Gerrard is taking bets." I answered.

Immediately, half of the salarians were on their omni-tool, racking up the bets.

"Ohhh...Colonel." Henry announced sardonically as Garrus and I made it to a big enough clearing, "Looks like you're on the wrong end of a three-to one statistic."

"How?" I muttered quietly. I looked at Garrus. "Are we doing this with armor on or off?"

"Best keep it on." He said, "Don't want the women to get too excited, here."

"Who's reffing?" Henry wondered.

"That'd be me." Kasumi said, striding forward into the circle forming around us. I noticed Admiral Koris right up front, not seeming particularly offended at the chosen activity for Garrus and I. Even some of the geth had taken an interest in our sparring match.

I stared Garrus down. Even I had to admit that the man was a little intimidating. Then again, I had no doubt the same was said of me.

"Fight!" Kasumi yelled.

Shouts and encouragement were vocalized as we moved towards each other. Garrus brought a leg up and I leaned back, letting it sail past me before bringing a cybernetic fist up into his stomach. I heard a small exhalation when the blow landed and moved away, deciding not to press my luck while he was still fresh.

He threw a punch out that hit me directly in the jaw. It made my head hurt a little, but not much beyond that. I was able to block the second one and shoved him backwards, clearing him from me.

_He's fluid. _I realized. _Almost graceful._

I was the polar opposite. Instead of a refined and smooth technique, I fought with my strength. My moves were simple and brutal. They weren't designed for long-winded martial arts bouts, but for getting the job done quickly and simply.

And while Garrus was indisputably tough, hand-to-hand combat wasn't what he was best at. Marksmanship was. While he was no pushover when it came to hand-to-hand, he didn't have the kind of experience I did.

Garrus swung out to my face and I blocked again, but he moved lower with his follow up and caught me in the gut. I felt pain as I moved and realized he'd caught me harder than I'd expected.

A third swing that came too fast for me to block and he struck me right in the mandible. I felt something strange and I saw his eyes widen as I perked up in confusion, not quite sure what had just happened.

"Uh..." He started, looking down.

I glanced down to find the rebuilt, cybernetic piece of my partial mandible in the dirt.

"That's right!" Shepard yelled, "Show him your reach!"

"C'mon, Roluck," Henry groaned, "Stop toying with the guy!"

"Great." Dr. Aline scolded, "I'm going to have to put that back on, you know?"

"Hm." I muttered, bending down and grabbing the chunk of cybernetics. I stuck it in my thigh pocket and looked back up at Garrus. "Doesn't hurt."

He gave me a nod and I brought my fists back up, signaling that I was fine to continue.

_Might as well get aggressive and end this._

He swung out again, but I was prepared this time. I moved in, letting the fist sail over my shoulder as I slammed my forehead into his face.

I didn't do it at full speed or power, as a move like that could seriously injure anybody who took the hit. Still, it was enough that Garrus momentarily staggered, allowing me to swing through with my elbow and catch him in his relatively soft temple.

He spun away, hitting the ground on all fours with a groan. He moved to get up, but I was too quick. I looped an arm around his throat and started to squeeze, the arm perfectly positioned to block the blood to his brain. He knew what that meant.

_Fight's over. _

I felt him slapping the thigh of my armor and released the hold.

Cheers erupted around me as I held out a hand to Garrus and helped him up.

"Sorry about the mandible." He said, clasping forearms with me.

"Think nothing of it." I said, nodding to Dr. Aline. "She'll get it back on."

The crowd started to disperse, already talking about how cool the display was as they went.

"That was amazing, Roluck!" Allison exclaimed, rushing in towards me. "And more importantly, you won me twelve hundred credits!"

"You gambled four hundred?" I asked as Shepard approached me.

"You always win, Boss." She answered with a grin.

"That was well fought, Vether." She said. "You should try that with me, sometime."

"I'm not stupid." I told her, knowing full well I'd have no chance against the woman. "I'll concede that one in advance."

She laughed and looked at Garrus, who was standing next to her and looking slightly embarrassed.

"C'mon, Garrus." She said, "Party's not over yet."

"I think we should get away from all this." Henry told me, looking out at the ceremony. "Get the team to ourselves."

"Not a bad idea." I admitted.

So we took off from the ceremonies relatively unnoticed and sat down on the beach. Henry brought one of the lights from the ceremony and Allison pulled a crate out from under a table. I heard the sound of glass against glass as Krieg carried it to the beach, where Henry set the light down.

"I got us all something." Allison said. She opened the crate to reveal no less than forty bottles of various liquors. "For an occasion like this."

"What if we didn't end up having an occasion like this?" Lena asked. Henry had looped his arm around her waist and they sat staring at the ocean.

"Then we wouldn't be alive to drink, now would we?" Dr. Aline answered.

If ever there were words to drink to, those were it. We told stories and laughed and one by one, the entire crew of the Vengeance drifted off to sleep until only a handful of us were left up. After a couple hours, I realized the celebration had ended. I looked around to find only Lena, Henry and Allison still awake. Everyone else was sleeping, some more peacefully than others.

_Not much we can do about that. _I thought to myself as I watched Risha'Zun toss and turn.

Henry was sitting with his back to a large rock, with Lena in his arms as they both stared up at the sky. They had been like that most the night, talking to each other occasionally and getting just the slightest bit more intimate every once in a while.

Allison hadn't stopped talking, not much to my surprise.

"So I'm curious, Boss." Allison finally said, literally poking the area where the prosthetic mandible had been punched off, "Does that hurt?"

"A little." I admitted drunkenly.

"You know," Allison said, her emerald eyes staring up into mine as she ran a hand through her crimson hair. "Where I come from, us women have a cure for that."

I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and looked up to see Henry's eyes widen as he craned his head over in my direction. I wondered what was wrong, just before I felt warm, wet lips on my face.

I was shocked, barely able to move from the surprise. Allison smiled and looked up at me right before she pursed her lips and pushed them against my neck.

I felt a very pleasant sensation start to work its way through my body. My senses opened up and I could smell her, the strawberry scent that I'd come to associate with her nearly overpowering me. I could feel the warmth of every touch on my neck.

"There is no way that actually works." I said.

"It's not supposed to."

I looked at Henry, unsure of what I was supposed to do when we were sitting here in front of everyone.

Both he and Lena were looking at us, something Allison suddenly seemed to realize as she spun around and looked at the pair.

"What?" She asked accusingly.

"Nothing, " Henry said, looking back to the sky and nudging Lena so she'd do the same. "Just...goddamn, took you two long enough."

"What?" Allison asked. "I know Lena knew, but you too?"

"I never thought I'd see the day." He told Allison. "I lost two thousand credits I don't have."

"I'll find a way for you to make it up to me." Lena answered with a smile.

"If you're going to rut, do it somewhere else." Krieg groaned in annoyance, shifting nearby, "Some of us decent people are trying to sleep."

I choked back a laugh, but Allison didn't. Henry stood, his arms around Lena.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Colonel." He told me. "Zero-seven-hundred."

"Yeah." I replied as he walked off. I felt a tugging on my armor and realized Allison was trying to pull me away. I looked down the beach to find myself pleasantly amused by the idea of moving further down the beach.

"Let's hope nothing tries to eat us." I said.

"Please, Roluck." Allison said, grabbing my hand and leading me out of the light. "Quarians come from here. You just know every animal is going to be unbearably adorable."

I gave her the point as we continued to walk in silence. I found myself trying to wrap my head around everything.

For a long time, I had harbored some feelings towards the Alliance pilot. Not until now had I realized how strong those feeling were. There was one thing, thought, that was nagging at me.

"Allison." I said when we stopped. The woman looked up at me expectantly, her face uncharacteristically serious in the dark. "I know with Eryc and everything that's happened..."

_Good job. _I berated myself, _Way to remind her._

"I mean," I continued, "You'll be taking an awful risk on me. There are much better choices. Safer choices."

"I don't want 'safe.' choices." She answered, starting to unzip her flight suit. "I want you. I don't blame you or anybody on that ship for Eryc. He did what he did."

"I just-"

"Shut up, Colonel." She replied, placing her lips over mine.

Unlike humans, turians didn't have fleshy mouths. It was an odd sensation, though far from uncomfortable.

"Boss?" She whispered.

"Yeah?"

"You know how, in the vids, they always say 'be gentle with me'?"

"Yes." I answered quietly, before finding myself staring into her dark green eyes.

"Don't be gentle."


End file.
